Anne-Claire Legendre's Upcoming Visit to Morocco
Anne-Claire Legendre, the newly appointed president of the Arab World Institute (Institut du monde arabe, IMA), is set to embark on an official visit to Morocco from June 19 to June 24, 2026. This visit comes at the invitation of Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication. It marks Legendre's first trip to the Kingdom since her appointment earlier this year in February. The primary objective of this visit is to establish a comprehensive cultural roadmap that outlines the collaborative efforts between the IMA and Morocco, building upon discussions that have taken place in recent months.
During her six-day stay, Legendre will visit key cities including Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech. This tour is being heralded as her inaugural official engagement in Morocco, where she will have the opportunity to engage in discussions with Bensaid regarding the joint cultural roadmap between their respective institutions. The itinerary also includes meetings with leaders from various Moroccan cultural institutions and foundations, as well as interactions with numerous stakeholders from the country's vibrant cultural and creative sectors.
Cultural Cooperation and Future Prospects
This visit is a continuation of a previous meeting held in Paris at the IMA headquarters, where Bensaid and Legendre first discussed the potential for a collaborative roadmap focused on enhancing cooperation in future cultural sectors. This includes pivotal areas such as animation, comic arts, the promotion of Arabic literature, and cinema. It was during this exchange that Legendre expressed her intention to visit Rabat to meet with Moroccan cultural institutions.
Bensaid emphasized that this initiative for cooperation is aligned with the renewed momentum in relations between Paris and Rabat, particularly following French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Morocco. Legendre, who took over as president of the IMA on February 17, 2026, after the resignation of her predecessor Jack Lang, is noted for being the first woman to hold this position since the institution's inception. Before her appointment, she served as an advisor to the President of the Republic on North Africa and the Middle East, a role she left to take the helm at the IMA.
The IMA was established within a unique diplomatic context, with its foundation conceptualized on February 28, 1980, under the moral authority of a High Council comprising representatives from member states of the Arab League. Morocco is among the 19 Arab states that contributed, alongside France, to the establishment of this institution, which serves as a dialogue platform between France, Europe, and the Arab world.
This institutional rapprochement is not limited to the IMA. In March 2026, Legendre held discussions in Paris with Mehdi Qotbi, the president of the National Foundation of Museums, regarding potential partnerships between their institutions. Qotbi linked this dialogue to the "exceptional strengthened partnership" between Morocco and France, driven by the initiatives of King Mohammed VI and President Emmanuel Macron. Legendre's upcoming trip from June 19 to 24 aims to further these ongoing exchanges between the two nations.
As reported by fr.le360.ma.
