Muslim-majority Morocco is looking for better army cooperation with Israel after it turned the fourth Arab nation to normalize ties with the Jewish state in 2020.
Moroccan military stated Tuesday it had agreed with Israel to strengthen army cooperation together with in intelligence and cybersecurity, following protection conferences in Rabat.
The two nations “agreed to further strengthen cooperation and expand it to other areas, including in intelligence, air defense and electronic warfare,” the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces stated in a press release.
The announcement Tuesday follows the primary assembly of the monitoring committee for Moroccan-Israeli protection cooperation within the Moroccan capital.
The two-day assembly examined army cooperation together with within the fields of “logistics, training and the acquisition and modernization of equipment.”
The two nations formalized ties in 2020, following related agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
It adopted the United States’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara area, in a quid professional quo for reestablishing ties with Israel.
That sparked concern in neighboring Algeria, long-time backers of the Polisario motion, which seeks an independence referendum for Western Sahara.
In November 2021, Israel’s then-defense minister Benny Gantz signed a memorandum of understanding in Rabat outlining safety relations with Morocco.
