Rabat – Morocco chaired on Friday the 18th meeting of the ministers of defense of the “5+5 Defense” Initiative, a cooperation forum joining five states on the southern shore of the Mediterranean: Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Libya, and Tunisia, and five states on the northern shore: France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain.
According to a statement reported by Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP), the meeting was an opportunity to “review the cooperation activities carried out in 2022 and to agree on an action plan for the year 2023.”
During the meeting, heads of delegations of member countries expressed their satisfaction with the results achieved in 2022.
In an opening statement addressing the delegations, Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the National Defense Administration, Abdeltif Loudyi, commended the initiative’s pragmatic approach in cultivating cooperation in many areas of common interest, including maritime surveillance, aviation security, risk management and strengthening the interoperability of forces through joint exercises.
The statement further details that the meeting served as a platform for the heads of delegations to discuss regional security and potential security threats. Attendees reiterated their commitment to joining efforts to meet off regional security challenges including terrorism, illegal trafficking, illegal immigration and climate change.
Noting Morocco’s efforts in maintaining regional security, Loudyi recalled the country’s multidimensional strategy to counter the threats of terrorism, immigration, and illegal trafficking and to manage the flow of irregular migrants.
At the end of the meeting, heads of the delegations approved the action plan for the upcoming year. The 2023 plan is set to see a 20% increase in activities compared to the previous year, which will see an increase in activities of about 20% compared to the previous year.
