Washington commends Morocco’s role in fighting WMD proliferation

The United States has commended Morocco’s role in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Africa.

 

The praise was voiced by US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Bonnie Jenkins, during the opening session of the high-level political meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), convening in Jeju, South Korea May 30 to June 02.

 

The US official welcomed Morocco’s partnership with the United States within the PSI framework, a partnership that will be strengthened by further operational actions aimed at African countries in 2024, making Morocco a model in the WMD non-proliferation.

 

Members of the anti-proliferation initiative agreed on Tuesday at the Jeju meeting to step up cooperation against changing security environment and reaffirmed their commitment to interdict the illicit transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials.

 

In a joint statement, the participating countries agreed to further commit to improving PSI capacity-building activities and training, as well as addressing the challenges posed by the emerging technologies and proliferation practices amid the “changing security environment.”

 

The new areas of concern include proliferation finance involving cryptocurrency, intangible technology transfers and the increasing sophistication of proliferators’ tactics to circumvent international law, they stated, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

 

The PSI members also noted that emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, can create additional nonproliferation and counter-proliferation challenges.

 

Stressing the need for “increased cooperation” in countering evolving threats posed by the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the delegates decided to work on an “action plan” for the implementation of the joint statement.

 

The high-level forum held on the 20th anniversary of the PSI is attended by delegates from 70 PSI-endorsing and observer countries, including Morocco, a founding member of the initiative.

 

The Moroccan delegation to the meeting includes officials from the Foreign Department, the National Defense Administration, and the General Directorate of National Security.

 

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a voluntary multilateral cooperation framework launched in 2003, to implement the “Interdiction Principles”. It aims to strengthen operational cooperation between the various ministerial departments and national agencies responsible for security, through measures to combat the illicit transport and delivery systems of WMD and related materials.