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Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco and Mauritania held their first joint military commission meeting in Rabat today, January 29, to discuss means of consolidating and strengthening military cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries.
The inspector of Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR), Lieutenant General Abdelfattah Louarak, and the chief of general staff of the Armed Forces of Mauritania, General Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed Lemine, chaired the meeting.
The officials assessed bilateral cooperation activities for the year 2019 and reviewed the activities scheduled for 2020.
The two parties also discussed regional security challenges, noting the important roles Morocco and Mauritania play in maintaining stability in the Maghreb region.
The Moroccan and Mauritanian military officials considered prospects for strengthening military cooperation between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the Mauritanian Armed Forces, based on the deep and long-standing ties between the two brotherly countries.
Louarak and Lemine each expressed their willingness to consolidate relations between the two armies, insisting on the sharing of experience and expertise.
Military cooperation between the two countries entails the exchange of information visits, participation in various training courses, technical support, and joint training courses.
The meeting comes on the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Morocco and Mauritania.
The director-general of local authorities at Morocco’s Ministry of Interior, Khalid Safir, and the director-general of territorial authorities at the Mauritanian Ministry of Interior and Decentralization, Abdi Ould Horma, signed the MoU in Nouakchott on January 13.
The MoU committed Morocco and Mauritania to bilateral cooperation regarding the territorial, regional, and local administration of the two countries.
The two countries also committed to promoting trade, industry, tourism, and investment in the region.
Although Morocco and Mauritania have taken opposing sides on the Western Sahara issue in the past, Mauritania’s official “neutrality” on the matter has allowed for cordial relations with Morocco.
Mauritania is a key player in the ongoing UN-led negotiations on Western Sahara, and Morocco is keen on gaining Mauritanian support for its Autonomy Plan.
Read also: Western Sahara’s ‘Moroccaness’ Reaches Unprecedented Heights
