Doha – Morocco’s Southern Zone Headquarters in Agadir is hosting the final planning meeting for the 21st edition of African Lion 2025 from February 24-28, according to a statement from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).
The meeting brings together representatives from Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, the United States Armed Forces, and several allied countries to finalize preparations for the multinational military exercise scheduled for May 12-23.
The upcoming exercise will be conducted across multiple locations including Agadir, Tan-Tan, Tiznit, Kenitra, Benguerir, and Tifnit.
According to FAR officials, African Lion 2025 will feature various operations training, planning exercises for officers, and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) decontamination drills, alongside joint maneuvers.
The exercise will also include parallel humanitarian and social initiatives.
This final meeting builds upon the groundwork established during the earlier main planning meeting that was also held in Agadir from November 18 to 22, 2024.
This final planning session follows a high-stakes telephone conversation earlier this month between Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid, Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces and Commander of the Southern Zone, and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown.
During their February 11 call, both military leaders stated that the African Lion exercise, conducted in Morocco since 2004, represents “the best illustration of the solidity and depth of the Moroccan-American strategic partnership,” the FAR General Staff reported.
“Morocco is one of our oldest allies; we will continue to support one another in the face of evolving security challenges,” General Brown stated on social media following the discussion, which focused on regional security concerns, particularly in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
African Lion has become Africa’s largest joint military exercise under US Africa Command since 2008. The exercise has grown substantially since its first edition in 2007, which began as a bilateral training between Morocco and the US.
Last year’s edition, African Lion 2024, was held from May 20-31 and convened approximately 7,000 military personnel from about 20 African countries and NATO member countries.
The US-Morocco military alliance, dating back to the 1950s, was further strengthened when Morocco was designated as a Major non-NATO ally in 2004.
Since then, Morocco has become Africa’s largest purchaser of US military equipment, with active government-to-government sales reaching $8.545 billion under the Foreign Military Sales system.
The defense partnership extends beyond equipment purchases. Morocco has received $478 million in equipment through the Department of Defense’s Excess Defense Articles program since 2013, along with $135 million in Foreign Military Financing since 2012 and $32 million for International Military Education and Training since 2006.
Morocco joined the anti-ISIS Global Coalition in 2014 as the first Maghreb country to do so and currently serves as co-chair of the Coalition’s Africa Focus Group. The country has also participated in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership since 2005.
The African Lion exercise aims to strengthen military cooperation between Morocco and the US, develop interoperability, and enhance intervention capabilities in a multinational context, ultimately contributing to regional security, peace, and stability.
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