Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita described the French decision to tighten visa procedures for citizens of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as "unjustified", and that it did not reflect the extent of cooperation on the irregular migration file.
Bourita said - in a press conference in Rabat today, Tuesday, with Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed - that his country has taken note of the French decision, and that it will follow up "closely with the French authorities."
The minister explained that the consular services of Morocco in France "have granted, in the last eight months alone, nearly 400 transit permits to persons who were in an illegal situation."
Bourita's comments came in response to Paris' decision to tighten visa requirements for citizens of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, which the French authorities said came in response to the three countries' refusal to issue the necessary consular permits to retrieve immigrants from their citizens.
The Moroccan Foreign Minister explained that what hinders the return of refugees is a matter that France must solve, as Morocco imposes the necessity of undergoing a test to detect the Corona virus to enter its territory, "and what France should say is that these people refuse to take this test because it is optional there and not mandatory."
He added that there are people who have transit permits to Morocco, but they could not return because they did not undergo this examination.
He added that as much as Morocco considers the travel visa decision a French sovereign decision, "as much as it considers its justifications inappropriate," noting that the kingdom "will follow up the matter closely with the French authorities."
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal had announced that his country's decision to tighten visa requirements for citizens of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia was "unprecedented, but necessary."
He attributed the decision to the three countries' refusal to "issue the necessary consular permits to retrieve immigrants from their citizens," adding that "these countries do not accept the repatriation of nationals we do not want, and we cannot keep them in France."
He also indicated that the positions of the three countries "slow down the effectiveness" of deportations from French territory when decisions are issued in this regard.