Morocco, Mauritania Deepen Strategic Military Cooperation

Casablanca – A Moroccan military delegation led by Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid, Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and Commander of the South Zone, wrapped up a three-day working visit to Mauritania today as Rabat and Nouakchott moved to deepen their defense coordination through the latest round of their joint military commission.

In Nouakchott, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani received Berrid on Tuesday in the presence of Morocco’s ambassador to Mauritania, Hamid Chabar, according to a statement from the FAR General Staff. The meeting was one of the key moments of a visit centered on the sixth session of the Moroccan-Mauritanian Joint Military Commission.

Later the same day, Berrid headed to Mauritania’s Ministry of Defense, where he held talks with Defense Minister Hanena Ould Sidi. During the meeting, the Mauritanian minister decorated the Moroccan official, on behalf of the president, with the National Order of Merit at the rank of Commander.

The Moroccan officer then co-chaired, alongside the Chief of the General Staff of the Mauritanian Armed Forces, the sixth session of the joint military commission.

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The two sides expressed satisfaction with what they described as the positive results of military cooperation between the two neighboring countries, commending what FAR called “tangible outcomes” of a partnership increasingly seen as strategic.

The commission has become a regular channel for defense planning between the two countries. Official reports from previous sessions show the talks usually focus on training, technical support, exchanges of expertise, and operational coordination, with growing attention on border security, irregular migration, and illicit cross-border activities.

During the fifth session, held in Rabat in November 2024, both militaries agreed to expand cooperation in security and defense while setting out activities for the 2025 program.

Military ties between Morocco and Mauritania date back to 1971, but the current institutional framework was formalized in 2006 through a memorandum of understanding that created the joint commission.

In recent years, the meetings have taken on added weight as both countries face shared regional concerns linked to Sahel instability, trafficking routes, and migration pressure along border areas.

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