Rabat - Moroccan Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid is set to meet his French counterpart Christiane Taubira on Thursday to discuss judicial cooperation between the two countries suspended since early 2014.
"We hope that this meeting resumes diplomatic talks between the two sides," said Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar on Tuesday.
Morocco suspended cooperation agreements with France when half a dozen agents of the French judicial police went to the residence of the Ambassador of Morocco driven by three complaints raised against Abdellatif Hammouchi, head of the Moroccan secret services (DGST), accusing him of torture.
The judicial move had been prompted by lawsuits filed against the Moroccan official in France by Moroccan activists.
The Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar was expected to visit France in what appeared to be an attempt by Moroccan and French officials to ease the year-long tension between Rabat and Paris.
However, the French Foreign Ministry confirmed the postponement of the visit of Morocco’s chief diplomat to France, adding they "are working to set with the Moroccan authorities a new date for the visit.”
The postponement of the visit came following reports suggesting that Morocco wants immunity from prosecution in France for its officials as a condition of resuming judicial and security cooperation agreements with Paris.
Morocco's ambassador to France denied that Morocco has requested immunity for its officials on French soil, saying that "suggesting otherwise is a lie and an irresponsible act."
"Those who distill that kind of insanities want in fact to pollute the announced visit of Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs to France," he added.
Following the terrorist attacks in France, a number of French influential figures called for strengthening security cooperation with Morocco.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the Senate, the upper house of the French parliament that "Judicial and police cooperation is not an option, but an absolute obligation. To find a solution to restore ties that should never have been cut with Morocco."