Rabat – Abdellatif Hammouchi, the head of Moroccan domestic intelligence and national policy, has met with key German security officials in Berlin.
Hammouchi headed a Moroccan security delegation to the German capital following an invitation by the country’s local security officials.
The chief of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) chief took part in discussions centered around major security issues, like countering terrorism threats, the return of foreign ISIS fighters, illegal immigration, money laundering, and providing security for sensitive sites.
Germany is one of several European countries seeking strong security cooperation with Morocco. The kingdom is already an ally of France, Spain, and Belgium in the fight against terrorism.
In October 2016, German Minister of Interior Thomas de Maizière visited the kingdom to meet with local officials in order to boost collaboration in the issues of security and immigration.
During the visit, the former Moroccan Minister of Interior Mohamed Hassad told his German counterpart that the kingdom would work to make bilateral cooperation reach levels similar to that reached with countries like Spain.
Morocco’s importance as a security partner was highlighted in December 2016 by the revelation that the kingdom had warned Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) about AnisAmri, the Tunisian ISIS recruit who carried out a deadly truck attack. The news was confirmed by a Moroccan official speaking on the condition of anonymity to Morocco World News, as well as by media sources in and outside the kingdom.
Moroccan security services had issued warnings to their German counterparts about Amri on two occasions, Sept. 19 and Oct. 11, drawing Germany’s attention to the fact that Amri was in contact with two ISIS extremists in Dortmund.
