Casablanca – Morocco is conducting talks with a number of countries and companies in order to launch consortiums for local weapons manufacturing.
A report by Strategic Defense Intelligence (SDI) has revealed that Morocco is currently holding talks with Spain, France, and the US, as well as companies in Belgium and the UK, to launch local joint ventures for weapons manufacturing. The attempt seeks to reduce Morocco’s complete dependency on foreign suppliers.
SDI, which delivers proprierty content for the global defense sector, acknowledged that, while Morocco’s military industry is not in a position to export weapons and military equipment, “this is likely to change soon with the government’s attempts to develop and expand the field of domestic arms manufacturing.”
The SDI report explained that Morocco’s desire to develop its military arsenal has evolved from its aspiration to become a military power in the continent, bolstered by its its macro-economic stability, low level of inflation, and huge reserves of hard currency.
Morocco, unlike other emerging countries, has a strong determination to develop its defense capabilities in the midst of the current situation the Middle East and North Africa region, according to the report.
It added that, just a few months after Saudi Arabia agreed to provide financial support to Morocco to develop its military industry, Morocco decided to collaborate with British and Belgian companies to lay the foundations of military plants capable of producing military equipment.
In the same regard, the report anticipated that Morocco’s defense industry would benefit from these efforts and initiatives so as to become able to produce the majority of its needs locally.
The review indicated that Moroccan weaponry imports have grown, making the country the world’s 13th biggest importer, and the second in Africa, after Algeria, a position the SDI predicted it would hold until at least 2020.
