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Rabat – Moroccan Ambassador to Pakistan Mohamed Karmoune and Pakistani Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa met on January 24 to discuss bilateral defense, security cooperation, and regional security matters, including the Afghanistan crisis.
During the meeting, Javed hailed Morocco-Pakistan relations, stressing, “we earnestly look forward to enhancing mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interests.”
The two officials reiterated Pakistan’s efforts in maintaining stability within the region, recalling the country’s pivotal role in resolving the Afghan crisis.
Meanwhile, Moroccan diplomat Karmoune “pledged to play his role to further improve diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels,” the Embassy of Pakistan in Rabat noted in a press release.
Morocco-Pakistan trade partnerships have also grown in recent years and have tripled between 2007 and 2018, with. Pakistan becoming a key player in Morocco’s fertilizer industry.
The two countries took several initiatives to improve cooperation in several fields, including security, joint military training, intelligence sharing, and counter-terrorism.
General Javed Bajwa visited Morocco in 2020 at the invitation of Abdelfattah Lourak, Morocco’s then Inspector General of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR).
The visit of the Pakistani general was part of an initiative to boost bilateral cooperation, and he met with several high-ranking Moroccan officials to explore defense cooperation between Islamabad and Rabat.
In October 2021, Morocco’s Special Forces engaged in the first joint bilateral military with their Pakistani counterpart and conducted a two-week joint training exercise in Pakistan.
“Morocco and Pakistan being two countries with large contributions in the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions are also cooperating to develop expertise and share experiences in the peacekeeping field,” noted the statement from the Embassy of Pakistan in Rabat.
The two countries had regular military interactions last year as they carried out two naval exercises near the Straits of Gibraltar and off the Moroccan coast.
“With regular visits and training exchanges, the two countries aspire to become ever closer in terms of bilateral defense cooperation,” the statement concluded.
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