Morocco, NATO discuss regional security situation

RABAT - Senior officials from Morocco and NATO discussed the regional security situation on Wednesday, Morocco's national defense administration said in a statement.

The Moroccan minister in charge of national defense administration, Abdeltif Loudyi, met with visiting NATO's assistant secretary general for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Alejandro Alvargonzalez, discussing the regional security situation.

The talks were an opportunity to highlight the relevant strategy led by the kingdom in the fight against terrorism and humanist management of the migration crisis, the statement said.

This multidimensional strategy is based on several complementary levers, notably the fight against precariousness and exclusion, the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development and the deployment of a coherent framework of security, legal and operational actions, the statement noted.

Loudyi stressed the kingdom is actively working, as part of South-South cooperation, to strengthen the capacities of the military forces of several African countries.

The two sides praised the quality and momentum of bilateral cooperation, reiterating their shared will to further strengthen and deepen it, particularly in terms of defense, training, cyber security and cyber defense, the statement underlined.

Governed by an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program, the "Morocco-NATO" cooperation particularly includes the training of military officers and the exchange of expertise. It is also marked by frequent exchanges of visits by senior officials.

Morocco has been a partner in NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue since its launch in 1994.