Morocco, United States sign military cooperation agreement
US Secretary of State for Defense Mark Esper with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat, October 2, 2020. AP Photo / Mosa'ab Elshamy
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The US Secretary of State for Defense ended his visit to North Africa on Friday.
Mark Esper was in Morocco, after passing through Tunisia and Algeria during the week.
The three-day tour aimed to strengthen military cooperation, the fight against jihadism and security in the region.
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"
Our alliance is strong and made to last,
" said Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita after seeing the US Secretary of State for Defense.
The latter also met with the Moroccan Chief of Staff and Minister Delegate for Defense.
Military cooperation agreement
As in Tunisia on
Wednesday September 30, Mark Esper signed a 10-year military cooperation agreement in Rabat with the Minister Delegate in charge of Administration and National Defense, Abdellatif Loudiyi.
He underlines that the United States and Morocco are working closely, more than ever in his opinion, in the field of security.
This ten-year agreement paves the way for cooperation in the strategic military field, the procurement of arms and equipment, military training, as well as intelligence between the two countries, says our correspondent in Casablanca,
Nina Kozlowski.
Mark Esper particularly emphasizes issues
of terrorism
, transnational threats and regional instability.
Washington now wishes to rely on reliable African partners to stabilize the situation, particularly in Libya and the Sahel.
This is the case of Morocco, considered as a major player on the continent by the United States.
► To read also: The American commitment in the Sahel remains intact, assures Washington
Each year, the Cherifian kingdom hosts a military exercise on its soil under the leadership of Africom, the American military command for Africa.
The United States is also the country's leading arms supplier.
This American visit comes at a time when
the Libyan dialogue is
due to resume this Friday in Bouznika, in the region of Rabat
.
This dialogue will take place in the presence of parliamentarians from both camps, that of Fayez el Sarraj and that of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
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Defense
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US engagement in the Sahel remains intact, says Washington