Denver – Military units from Morocco and Pakistan concluded a two-week counterterrorism training event Saturday in Pakistan.
The event was held at the National Counterterrorism Center in Pakistan and was the product of months of planning from both sides. The central motto of the event was “United Against Terrorism” and under this theme, both militaries focused on improving joint cooperation in various counter-terrorism training scenarios.
Although this is the first event of this type held by both countries, Morocco and Pakistan have a strong history of bilateral relations that stretches back nearly 70 years. In 1952, Pakistani officials granted Moroccan diplomats visas to attend a UN gathering in New York after France declined to help the Moroccan delegation.
Pakistan and Morocco have also fostered closer economic ties, with annual trade between the two countries reaching $450 million. A joint business venture between Morocco’s OCP group and the Pakistani-based Fauji group has worked to take advantage of Morocco’s massive phosphate reserves and export the product to Pakistan.
Now, both countries are looking to grow stronger defense and security ties to combat the growing threat of terrorism in their repsective regions.
While Morocco is continuously monitoring the deteriorating security situation in the African Sahel region, Pakistan has been forced to deal with the Taliban takeover in neighboring Afghanistan, and the potential infiltration of militants across the border separating the two countries.
In August, a naval training exercise brought ships from both countries’ navies together to rehearse various maritime security scenarios.
Top Pakistani military officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have also visited Morocco over the past two years to conduct personal meetings with high-ranking Moroccan military officials.
