Morocco Seeks Israeli Partnership to Boost Domestic Defense Industry

Morocco is seeking to reduce its arms imports and manufacture its military equipment locally, with the contribution of Israel. Since the normalization of their relations in 2020 under the aegis of the United States, the two countries have strengthened their military cooperation. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was in Rabat in November, and Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi has just completed a three-day visit to the kingdom.

During his stay, Kohavi met with the Moroccan Defense Minister. "The two parties discussed opportunities for military cooperation, both in terms of training and in the operational and intelligence fields," the IDF said in a statement.

Kohavi also met with his Moroccan counterpart, General Farouk Belkhir. The two officials welcomed the excellent quality of military cooperation, as evidenced by the participation, for the first time, of the Israeli army in African Lion, the military exercises organized by Morocco and the United States. Before Kohavi’s visit, the Israeli Ministers of the Interior, Commerce, Economy, Defense and Foreign Affairs visited Rabat.