French President Emmanuel Macron will head to Morocco on a three-day state visit on October 28th, the Moroccan royal palace said in a statement Monday, after three years of tense relations between the two countries, reports FRANCE 24.
"This visit reflects the depth of bilateral relations based on a deep-rooted and solid partnership," the palace said.
Macron, who will arrive on October 28, was invited to the North African country by Moroccan King Mohammed VI in late September.
The monarch had called the visit -- the second since 2018 -- an opportunity for "a renewed and ambitious vision covering several strategic sectors".
Tensions between Paris and Rabat have risen in recent years over France's ambiguous stance on the disputed Western Sahara and Macron's quest for a rapprochement with Algeria.
A statement by the European Parliament in 2023 condemning a rollback in the kingdom's freedom of the press also ramped up tensions, with some blaming Paris.
The two countries were also at odds after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it granted to Moroccans -- a decision that was revoked the following year.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which in 2020 declared a "self-defence war" and seeks the territory's independence.