Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Received by Minister Delegate in Charge of National Defense Administration and Lieutenant General, Inspector General of FAR

In accordance with the Very High Royal Instructions, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of National Defense Administration, Abdeltif Loudyi received, Sunday at the headquarters of this Administration, Army General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America, who is on a working visit in the Kingdom leading an important delegation. During this meeting, the two officials expressed their satisfaction with the excellent level achieved by the age-old relations of friendship and cooperation, consolidated by a strategic military partnership governed by an important legal arsenal, including the 2020-2030 roadmap for defense cooperation signed in October 2020, on the occasion of the visit to Morocco of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces said in a statement. After reviewing the state of bilateral cooperation in the defense field and opportunities to further strengthen it, the two officials welcomed the positive results of the Defense Advisory Committee and highlighted the importance of the combined annual exercise “African Lion” which represents a major lever for success serving the interoperability of the armed forces, according to the same source. It added that Loudyi referred to the tripartite declaration signed between the Kingdom of Morocco, the United States of America and Israel in December 2020 before His Majesty King Mohammed VI, May God assist Him, strengthening peace and stability in North Africa and the Middle East. He also commended the recognition by the United States of America of the full sovereignty of the Kingdom over its Sahara. On the same day, and on the High Instructions of His Majesty the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, Army General Mark Milley was also received by Lieutenant General Belkhir El Farouk, Inspector General of the FAR and Commander of the Southern Zone, at the FAR General Staff in Rabat. During their meeting, which took place in the presence of the Chiefs of the General Staff of the FAR, senior U.S. military officials and the Ambassador of the United States of America accredited to Rabat, the two military officials expressed their satisfaction with the positive results of the Defense Advisory Committee, the statement said. In this context, the two military officials reiterated their willingness to further strengthen cooperation and strategic partnership between the two armies. They also stressed the importance of the joint exercise, “African Lion” which remains the best realization of the interoperability of the forces of both countries. This being his first visit to the African continent as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US General took this opportunity to highlight the important role played by the Kingdom of Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, as an actor of stability and peace in Africa and the Middle East. At the end of this meeting, the two military leaders expressed once again their determination to consolidate this historic and exemplary partnership, the statement concluded.