Morocco, Spain to buttress “active” cooperation against terrorism 2 Settembre 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis Morocco and Spain agreed late on Tuesday to buttress “active” bilateral cooperation in face of terrorist and security threats. In a joint statement at the end of the joint meeting of the two countries’ ministers of interior and defense in Rabat, the two countries underlined the progress covered since the signing of the defense cooperation agreement, which helped further deepen the close collaboration in defense issues and improve the two countries’ capacities to face threats to security. To face such threats, the two countries said they are aware of the importance and the need to work together to develop their respective capacities in intelligence, cyber-security and training. Morocco and Spain also expressed “great satisfaction” over actions meant as a result of close cooperation between their security departments, and pledged to further reinforce their cooperation, mainly in air and sea-drug trafficking, noting that the establishment of joint actions and plans between Spain’s Guardia civile and Morocco’s gendarmerie royale is evidence to the existing exceptional cooperation. In the release, Morocco also praised the efficiency of measures taken by Spain to control drugs trafficking by light aircraft through the Strait of Gibraltar. On migration, the two delegations, comprising Morocco’s Interior Minister, Mohamed Hassad, Minister-delegate for national defense administration, M. Abdelatif Loudyi, and Minister-delegate, Cherki Drais, and Spain’s defense and interior ministers, respectively Pedro Morenes and Jorge Fernandez Diaz, also welcomed the good results of bilateral cooperation in this field and pledged to further consolidate it. They also agreed to work, both at the regional and multilateral levels, to actively contribute to control illegal migration flows, through an approach that combines security and humanitarian aspects and links migration to co-development. After reaffirming the preeminence of humanitarian aspects in migration issues management, officials of the two countries expressed concern over the recurrence of tragic incidents in the Mediterranean and deplored human losses. The meeting is part of regular sessions between officials of the two countries in charge of national defense and interior.
