RABAT, Morocco / ANKARA

The foreign ministers of Morocco and France vowed to bolster their cooperation and partnership on Tuesday.

A French Foreign Ministry statement said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita reaffirmed during their meeting in Paris to strengthen, protect, and defend the “enhanced exceptional partnership” between the two countries launched during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Morocco last October.

They also welcomed the “unprecedented dynamism” of the bilateral relationship between Paris and Rabat.

During Macron’s visit to Morocco, he and King Mohammed VI signed a declaration to enhance the “exceptional partnership” between the two countries.

According to the statement, the two foreign ministers reviewed regional and international issues, particularly Euro-Mediterranean relations, and the situation in the Middle East and Africa.

The two diplomats also welcomed the prospect of a high-level meeting on Morocco being held in the autumn.

Tuesday’s talks came as tension escalated between Morocco’s regional rival Algeria and France.

On Monday, Algeria expelled 12 French diplomats from the country in response to last week's arrest of an Algerian consular official by French security forces.

Tension soared over France’s support for Morocco’s “autonomy” plan for the disputed Western Sahara region.

The Western Sahara issue has been a source of tensions between Algeria and Morocco for some five decades. The issue began in 1975 after the Spanish colonial withdrawal from the region, and the conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front turned into an armed struggle that lasted until 1991 when a ceasefire agreement was signed.

The UN does not recognize the sovereignty claims of either the Polisario Front or Morocco, which took control of most of Western Sahara in a 1975 agreement with Spain and Mauritania.

Morocco proposes extensive autonomy for the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a stance supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.