Morocco, UN Deepen Peacekeeping Ties After High-Level Military Dialogue

Marrakech – Morocco’s Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, General Mohammed Berrid, and UN Acting Military Adviser General Cheryl Pearce discussed today Morocco’s role in supporting United Nations peace operations and cooperation on global security issues.

Meeting at the FAR General Staff headquarters in Rabat, the two officials exchanged views on Morocco’s long-standing engagement in UN peacekeeping missions, underlining the kingdom’s contributions to international stability.

Morocco’s participation includes deployments to operations in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where Moroccan troops help protect civilians and support mission mandates.

The country has been a steady contributor to UN peacekeeping since the 1960s, regularly providing military and police personnel to missions across Africa. As of early 2025, it has deployed more than 1,700 personnel under UN command, making it one of the larger troop-contributing countries from the region.

In May 2025, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres posthumously honored Moroccan peacekeeper Corporal Karim Temara – who fell in 2024 while serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – at the UN’s annual memorial ceremony in New York, recognizing his sacrifice.

Beyond troop deployments, Rabat also hosts and conducts training programs for peacekeepers from other countries, including a three-week, women-focused UN peacekeeping course in Agadir in August 2025 attended by 23 female military personnel from 14 nations.

At the United Nations Troop Contributing Countries Chiefs’ Conclave in New Delhi in October 2025, Morocco stressed its long peacekeeping tradition, with Brigadier General Abdelkrim Nejjar noting that Moroccan soldiers served in both World Wars before contributing for over six decades to UN missions.

He pledged the North African country’s readiness to adapt to evolving mission challenges, expand training capacity, and share best practices. Nejjar reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to multilateral security and called for more practical mandates to enable troops to operate effectively in complex environments.

Alongside the UN, US Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported on January 20 that Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch revealed to him at the time, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, that Morocco is discussing sending troops to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza.

“King Mohammed VI will be on President Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Board,” Akhannouch said, confirming the talks.

Morocco was the first country to sign onto the Board of Peace on January 22, after King Mohammed VI accepted Trump’s invitation as a founding member. The initiative foresees a leading Moroccan role within a broader international stabilization effort.