Moroccan-US military cooperation reviewed in Rabat

Military cooperation and the strategic partnership between the United States and Morocco were reviewed at a meeting in Rabat Monday between Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and Commander of the Southern Zone General Mohammed Berrid and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander.

The meeting, held in execution of the royal instructions concerning the holding of the 13th Session of the Defense Consultative Committee (DCC), was attended by a large US military delegation on a working visit to Morocco May 17 – 22, the US Ambassador to the Kingdom Puneet Talwar, and the U.S. Defense Attaché accredited to Morocco.

During the meeting, the two sides emphasized the strength and durability of the privileged ties and strategic partnership between the United States and Morocco. They also expressed their willingness to further develop these longstanding relations in the same spirit of friendship, mutual understanding, and shared trust, the FAR General Staff said in a statement.

The two officials expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of bilateral military cooperation, which has shown significant progress in several areas, including the conclusion of agreements and MoUs, equipment and material acquisition, training and exercises, as well as the organization of combined inter-service and joint exercises, such as the “African Lion”, now in its 20th edition, the statement added.

During this meeting, several topics of interest were discussed, particularly related to security and defense challenges in Africa, Morocco’s important role in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance, the fight against transnational threats, and the evolution of material acquisitions, according to the statement.

The meeting of the Defense Consultative Committee serves as a strategic dialogue platform where crucial regional security issues are discussed, and where the broad outlines of the future action plan with AFRICOM and the Utah National Guard are drawn, as well as the capacity development projects managed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the FAR statement said, adding that Moroccan-American military cooperation is governed by Agreements, Memorandums of Understanding, and bilateral technical arrangements, which specify the modalities of cooperation execution.