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Rabat – Under the High Instructions of King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid met with US Army General Dagvin Anderson on Thursday.
The talks were held at the headquarters of the Southern Zone during the AFRICOM commander’s visit to Morocco for the African Lion exercise.
The meeting took place during General Anderson’s visit to Morocco as part of the 22nd edition of the African Lion 2026 military exercise, the largest annual joint drills between Morocco and the United States.
Discussions focused on the various dimensions of bilateral military cooperation, particularly operational training and joint exercises. Both sides highlighted the strategic importance of the African Lion exercise, jointly organized every year since 2004, as a key pillar of the long-standing defense partnership between Rabat and Washington.
The talks reflected what military officials described as a broad and evolving cooperation framework covering training, coordination, and interoperability between the two armed forces.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid and Brigadier General Mohsine Bensdira, Head of the 3rd Bureau of the Southern Zone Staff, were awarded the United States Legion of Merit in recognition of their contributions to strengthening military cooperation.
The decorations were presented during an official ceremony by General Dagvin Anderson on behalf of the U.S. Secretary of War, according to a statement from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces.
African Lion 26 is a US-led exercise launched on April 20 across four countries – Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal – involving more than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations.
The North African country hosts the bulk of the drills. It is the largest annual joint military exercise led by AFRICOM in Africa and has been held since 2004. The exercise is set to end on Friday.
