The North Africa Post
Brazil and Morocco signed a deal to share military technology as the North African Kingdom seeks to develop its own defense industry.
The agreement was raised during the visit Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita paid to Brazil last week, the Brazilian foreign ministry said on twitter.
The deal reflects Morocco’s ambition to develop a local military industry to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign arms, after the country signed similar deals with Spain and the UK.
As part of diversifying partners, Morocco’s minister delegate to defense Abdeltif Loudiyi held talks Monday (June 17) with Pakistani Chief of Staff Zubair Mahmood Hayat on the means of stepping up exchange of expertise and know-how.
On May 31, British trade minister Liam Fox said his country sees promising prospects to develop cooperation with Morocco in defense industry.
A Moroccan source said that a joint venture was under preparation between Morocco and the UK’s Chemical Military Product (CMP), an ammunition manufacturer. The project is worth 300 million dirhams with Morocco owning 10% of the company’s capital, according to le360.ma.
Spanish defense minister Angel Olivares Ramirez held talks last March with Morocco’s minister delegate to defense during which the launch of joint ventures was discussed notably in fields relating to military aircrafts and ship military hardware.
Morocco’s decision to foster its domestic military industry capabilities comes at a moment marked by a surge of instability in North Africa and an arms race with Algeria that shows no signs of abatement.
A report issued by the Strategic Defense Intelligence (SDI) said that Morocco’s advanced military procurement will enable it to contain Algeria and become Africa’s leading army by 2022.
“The country consistently imports advanced arms and ammunitions such as fighter and training aircraft, ships, missiles, tanks, and frigates to strengthen its armed forces; a trend expected to continue over the forecast period,” reads the report dubbed The Future of the Moroccan Defense Industry – Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022.
The report notes that Morocco’s defense budget is expected to increase from $3.5 billion in 2018 to $3.9 billion by 2022, that is a steady growth rate of 2.80%, according to estimates by the Strategic Defense Intelligence.
POSTED BY NORTH AFRICA POST
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