Rabat – Abdellatif Hammouchi, the general director of Morocco’s National Security and Territorial Surveillance (DGSN-DGST) is leading a security delegation to Portugal, where officials from both countries discussed cooperation.
The DGSN-DGST chief held a series of meetings, including with Director General of Portugal’s National Services Adelio Nieva de Cruz as well as with Director General for the Strategic Intelligence Agency for Defense, Carlos Lopez Perez, said a statement by the DGST.
During the meetings, Morocco and Portugal reviewed and accession security citation at the regions and international levels, as well as the security challenges and threats in the Mediterranean region, added the statement, noting that Hammouchi and his Portuguese interlocutors also discussed the scourge of terrorist activity in the region and reiterated their commitment to deepen security cooperation to tackle such challenges.
“This visit comes to confirm the common desire of the two parties to strengthen security cooperation and consolidate intelligence coordination in the field of combating security threats affecting the two countries,” concluded the DGST statement.
The meeting comes just a few months after Portugal’s government issued a statement renewing its eagerness to boost bilateral ties with Morocco.
The Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, notably emphasized his country’s willingness to boost ties with Morocco on the sidelines of a High-Level Meeting.
The country’s determination was also recently reflected in the joint bid by Portugal, Morocco, and Spain to host the 2030 World Cup.
Morocco has in recent years strengthened its security cooperation with different international partners to tackle regional security challenges, especially the presence of terrorist groups and other criminal networks.
The North African country works with different partners across the world to tackle security threats, namely through the sharing of intelligence and expertise.
Prior to his trip to Portugal, Hammouchi held a series of meetings with high-ranking security officials from the US, Germany, and the Netherlands to discuss venues to intensify cooperation efforts against organized crime.
