5+5 Defense Initiative: Army Chiefs pledge from Rabat to foster cooperation against common threats

The chiefs of staff of the armies of member countries of the “5+5 Defense Initiative” approved on Thursday in Rabat their joint action plan set for 2023 and pledged to enhance further cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking, clandestine migration, terrorism and marine pollution.

During their 14th meeting convened under the chairmanship of Morocco, the Chiefs of staff of the armies of France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal and Spain also reviewed progress of their action plan 2022.

Army chiefs of the eight countries made recommendations and conclusions to be included in the joint declaration of the 18th meeting of the Defense ministers of the member countries, due in Rabat on December 16.

They recommended the promotion of the sustainability of the “5+5 Defense Initiative”, the promotion of gender equality and the strengthening of multilateral cooperation in maritime security, air safety, academic research training and army role in major disasters management.

The Chiefs of Staff of the armies of the eight member countries welcomed the joint practical exercises and commended the Initiative’s projects and structures, in particular the “5+5 Defense” College, the Euro-Maghreb Center for Research and Strategic Studies, the “5+5 Defense” Forum and the 5+5 Demining training Center.

In his opening address, Gen. El Farouk Belkhir, Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, hailed the efforts made by all member countries to make of this Initiative a privileged platform for sharing experiences in security and defense, promoting cooperation between the armies of the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

He also reaffirmed the Royal armed forces’ attachment to multilateral military cooperation to counter the challenges facing the region, says a statement released by the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces.

For their part, the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces of the participating countries stressed the importance of the Initiative in fostering the exchange of experiences, mutual understanding and trust.

Set up in 2004, the “5+5 Defense” initiative is a forum for multilateral cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean. It gathers five countries from the southern shore of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia) and five countries from the northern shore (France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain).

The Initiative seeks to promote mutual understanding and security cooperation against common challenges such as terrorism, migratory flows, drugs and arms trafficking