Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said his country would support the United Arab Emirates in its fight against terrorism. (JOHN MACDOUGALL/ / AFP)
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DUBAI — Morocco will provide direct military, operational and intelligence support to the United Arab Emirates to assist in its fight against terrorism, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar announced that the move comes as part of a bilateral military cooperation agreement between the two countries.
“Morocco will give its active support to the United Arab Emirates in their fight against terrorism and for the preservation of regional and international peace and stability,” the statement read.
The contribution will focus on operational military and intelligence aspects, according to the statement.
In addition to the UAE, Morocco is a member of the anti-ISIL coalition where the kingdom provides intelligence and operational support to Emirati, Saudi, Bahraini, Qatari Jordanian and American forces operating in Syria.
“Morocco is ready to come to the military aid of every Arab or African country whose security and sovereignty is threatened. Every country that makes the request will be supported,” said Mezouar in Moroccan press statements.
Earlier this year the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) invited Jordan and Morocco to form a military alliance to resolve the bloc’s manpower issues. According to a Jordanian official, the invitation was presented to the two governments during a GCC meeting in late March and is under consideration.
According to Moroccan press reports, the military alliance would receive the assistance of a total of 300,000 troops from Morocco and Jordan.
The kingdom has been a recipient of GCC financial aid. And in 2012, Morocco and Jordan received a US $5 billion aid package to help sustain the two countries’ economies. ■
Email: amustafa@defensenews.com.
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