India, Morocco Discuss Efforts To Further Strengthen Partnership

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh held a meeting with Omar Hejira, the visiting Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Trade of Morocco, in New Delhi on Wednesday, as they discussed efforts to further strengthen the bilateral partnership.

"Delighted to meet H.E. Mr Omar Hejira, Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Trade of Kingdom of Morocco. India and Morocco relations are warm and friendly. We discussed efforts to further strengthen this partnership," Singh said in a post on X after the meeting.

The meeting took place just after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh concluded his two-day visit to Morocco from September 22-23.

On Tuesday, Singh and his Moroccon counterpart Abdelatif Loudyi jointly inaugurated Tata Advanced Systems Limited's (TASL) state-of-the-art defence manufacturing facility in Morocco's Berrechid. He described the occasion as a historic moment in the evolving strategic partnership between India and Morocco. Spread over 20,000 square metres, the facility will undertake production of the indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) 8x8, jointly designed by TASL and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

On Monday, Rajnath Singh met Morocco's Minister of Trade Ryad Mezzour in Rabat with discussions held on defence, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

"Had an excellent meeting with Morocco's Minister of Trade Mr Ryad Mezzour today in Rabat. The areas of our discussion included defence, pharmaceuticals and chemicals," the Indian Defence Minister posted on X.

He also met his Moroccon counterpart Abdeltif Loudiyi as both discussed ways to deepen cooperation in several sectors, including counter-terrorism efforts, maritime security, Cyber defence and capacity building. The two leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in defence sector.

"Had a very productive meeting with Morocco's Defence Minister Mr. Abdeltif Loudiyi and we signed an MoU on cooperation in field of defence. India's ties with Morocco are growing remarkably over the years. We discussed ways to deepen collaboration in key areas, including Counter-terrorism efforts, Maritime security, Cyber defence and capacity building," said Singh.

During his visit, Singh also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Rabat and praised their contributions to both their host country and their homeland. The visit at the invitation of Abdeltif Loudiyi, marked the first-ever visit of an Indian Defence Minister to Morocco.

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