CASABLANCA, Morocco --Russia's state-owned nuclear power company said Thursday it would bid to build Morocco's first nuclear plant, while Russian President Vladimir Putin signed cooperation deals with the Moroccan king as part of an economic mission to expand Russia's African reach.

Putin -- the first Russian leader to visit Morocco -- was welcomed by King Mohammed VI, Moroccan dignitaries and foreign ambassadors at a ceremony under the baking sun before the royal palace in Casablanca, with a military band piping and minarets towering in the background beyond a screen of pine trees.

They then headed into talks. Afterward the Russian and Moroccan delegations signed documents on extradition, tourism, fishing, medicine and sports, palace spokesman Chakib Laroussi told The Associated Press.

The trip wraps up an Africa tour aimed at spreading Russia's influence beyond its traditional Soviet-era partners. Putin arrived early Thursday from South Africa, where he pushed for a greater Russian business presence.

"The huge, positive moral and political potential, for which the USSR paid a lot in its time, must be transformed today into pragmatic relations in the economic sphere," he said in televised comments.

"This is a very promising direction for our activity, our foreign policy, our economic expansion," he said, adding: "In the good sense of the word, so as not to frighten anyone"

Putin and the king were expected to discuss boosting the U.N.'s role in global affairs, anti-terrorism efforts and tensions in the Middle East, Putin aide Sergei Prikhodko said.

Regarding the Middle East, he said Putin and the king would "consider prospects for resuming the political process in order to ensure a lasting peace in the region in compliance with the norms of international law," according to Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency.

The two were also expected to discuss the dispute over the Western Sahara, Laroussi said, adding that Morocco and Russia shared similar positions on the issue. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, but most countries do not recognize its sovereignty and years of U.N. efforts have failed to organize a vote on self-determination.

Early Russian support for Algeria, which in turn backs the Western Saharan independence movement Polisario, has waned since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Arms cooperation, including sales of Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles and Tunguska air defense systems, was also on the agenda, Prikhodko said, adding that current arms trade between the countries was "insignificant."

Energy, too, was expected to be a key part of the talks. Russia is seeking to expand its energy influence and Morocco is seeking to diversify its sources of gas and electricity.

Russia's nuclear power monopoly, Atomstroiexport, said Thursday it would bid for a contract to build Morocco's first nuclear plant, ITAR-TASS reported.

Bidding has not yet opened for the plant, expected to go on line in 2016-2017.

Officials of Morocco's National Electricity office, which sent a delegation to Moscow for talks with Atomstroiexport last week, could not be reached for comment.

Both countries stand to gain from cooperating on energy, said Claire Spencer, an analyst at London's Chatham House think tank.

Russia, whose natural gas exports are key to its now-booming economy, "is looking for markets outside Europe, and Morocco is looking to diversify away from Algerian gas," Spencer said.

Morocco is heavily dependent on importing natural gas from neighbor Algeria, with whom relations are sometimes tense, Spencer said.

Moscow was traditionally close to Algeria and other communist-friendly African states during the Soviet period, but with the Russian economy thriving thanks largely to high oil prices, it is reaching out to other African nations.

In South Africa, Putin said Wednesday that advancing Russian business penetration abroad was a priority. He said Russian businesses are prepared to invest in South Africa, and corporate leaders signed agreements in mining, diamond and banking.

Putin departed Morocco on Thursday afternoon following lunch with the king.

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By John Thorne, Associated Press Writer

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