Morocco, Brazil sign MoU on security cooperation

Director-General of Morocco’s National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, and General-Director of the Brazilian Federal Police, Andrei Augusto Passos Rodrigues, signed, on Tuesday in Agadir, a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation.

The MoU, meant to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchange experiences in the security field, provides for developing cooperation channels between Moroccan and Brazilian security services in the fight against transnational organized crime. This includes the fight against the trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances, terrorism, trafficking in human beings and migrants, firearms, ammunition, explosives and their components, money laundering, document forgery and cybercrime, the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) said in a press release.

In terms of technical assistance, the MoU provides for promoting experience exchange in the field of police training and capacity building, the exchange of information, technical tools and technologies, as well as supporting joint investigations and inquiries and identifying permanent contact mechanisms between the two parties, the press release said.

The Chief of the Brazilian police stressed in a statement to the media after the signing of the MoU the importance of cooperation and exchange of experiences with Morocco in the security field.

He pointed out that this cooperation will contribute to fighting terrorism and organized crime, including drug and human trafficking.

“Organized crime has no borders, therefore law enforcement agencies need to eliminate existing barriers in order to be able to exchange information quickly and with high quality and to strengthen the security of our countries,” he said, noting that the signing of this MoU with Morocco represents one of many future steps to be taken by both parties in the field of joint security cooperation.

The visit to Morocco of the General-Director of the Brazilian Federal Police coincided with the 5th DGSN Open Days, held this year in Agadir, under the theme “National Security: Citizenship and Solidarity.” It provided an opportunity to inform the chief of the Brazilian Federal Police about the experience of the annual Open Days event, the press release said, adding that Rodrigues visited the various stands and took note of the presentations to citizens as well as the objectives of this event, embodying the concept of community policing.

This visit embodies the central role that the Moroccan security services play within the system of international cooperation in this field, through their role as a reliable partner, capable of meeting growing security challenges, and a regional hub of support for bilateral and multilateral police cooperation with various countries around the world.