Morocco's Minister Delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of the National Defense Administration, Abdeltif Loudyi, received Wednesday at the headquarters of this Administration, a delegation of the American Congress led by the chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, Mike Rogers, on the sidelines of his visit to the Kingdom of Morocco.
During this meeting, which took place in the presence of the US ambassador accredited in Rabat, members of the US Congress expressed their enthusiasm for the major reforms achieved by the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, said the National Defense Administration in a statement.
The American representatives took this opportunity to praise the level of excellence achieved by the age-old relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, strengthened by a strategic partnership in particular on the political, diplomatic, economic, military and security levels, the statement said, noting that they also referred to the multiple efforts and the role of the Kingdom in the service of peace and stability in the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East.
For his part, Loudyi reiterated the willingness of the Kingdom to expand the range of this partnership, consolidated by the signing, before King Mohammed VI, of the tripartite declaration between the United States of America, Morocco and Israel in December 2020, recognizing the sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara, the same source added.
Regarding the field of defense, the Minister welcomed the positive decisions taken by the US Congress and Senate on the military cooperation of the United States of America with the Kingdom of Morocco, on the occasion of the adoption of the US National Defense Budget for 2023, noted the Administration.
He also stressed the importance of bilateral military cooperation and training actions as well as exchanges of experience and expertise embodied in particular by the regular holding of the multilateral military exercise "African Lion" to enhance the interoperability of the two countries' forces.
At the end of this meeting, the two parties expressed the ambition and willingness to consolidate, in the future, these exemplary relations, in particular in accordance with the roadmap 2020-2030, concluded on the occasion of the visit to Morocco of the US Secretary of Defense, according to the statement.