25 November 2021

Morocco, Israel sign defence industry, security agreements

by Charles Forrester

Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz and Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in Charge of National Defence Abdellatif Loudiyi at the signing ceremony. (Israeli MoD/Ariel Hermoni)

Morocco and Israel have signed a raft of agreements to bolster defence and security co-operation during the visit by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz to the north African country.

Following a meeting between Gantz and Abdellatif Loudiyi, Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the National Defence Administration on 24 November, the two signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) covering “exchanges of experience and expertise, technology transfer, training, and co-operation in the field of defence industry”, the official Maghreb Arabe Presse outlet reported.

The signing of the MOU comes almost a year after the normalisation of relations between the two countries in December 2020, as part of the wider Abraham Accords peace agreements brokered by the United States. Further agreements between Israel and Morocco include the signing of a collaboration agreement in July between the Moroccan MoD and the Israel National Cyber Directorate covering “operational co-operation, research and development, and the sharing of information and knowledge,” as well as a further agreement on the protection of information in the defence sector.

Janes reported in February 2020 that Morocco had taken delivery of three Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor rebels in the Western Sahara.

Morocco and Israel have signed a raft of agreements to bolster defence and security co-operation dur...

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