Rabat Hosts Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee's 11th Session

People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
TT

Rabat Hosts Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee's 11th Session

People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

The Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee (DCC) convened its 11th session this Tuesday at the headquarters of the National Defense Administration.

The meeting is held every two years alternately in Rabat and Washington, and is part of bilateral military cooperation which mainly focuses on the areas of training, military equipment and logistics.

Morocco’s Minister Delegate for National Defense Administration Abdellatif Loudyi and US Under-Secretary of Defense in charge of Political Affairs Anthony Tata co-chaired the session.
Tata is on a three-day working visit to Morocco at the head of a large military delegation.

The two officials expressed their satisfaction with the strength, excellence, and sustainability of the privileged ties and the exceptional strategic partnership between the US and the Kingdom of Morocco, said a statement issued by the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).

They also highlighted their ambition to further develop these long-standing relations in the same spirit of friendship, mutual understanding and shared trust, it said.

The two officials stressed the importance of the decision of the US administration to recognize Morocco’s full sovereignty over the entire region of the Moroccan Sahara. This recognition makes the Moroccan autonomy initiative the only realistic, serious, and pragmatic solution to the regional conflict over the Kingdom's southern provinces.

Further, the two sides underlined that this historic event will certainly have a positive impact on the geostrategy of the region as well as on peace, stability, security, and economic integration in the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Middle East.

Loudyi highlighted the importance of consolidating military cooperation with the US, inviting the US Department of Defense to further explore collaboration opportunities for the establishment in Morocco of joint defense industry projects.

Afterward, a plenary session attended by members of the US delegation, the Commander of the Royal Gendarmerie and the heads of the organs of the General Staff of the FAR, was held to discuss Moroccan-American military cooperation and the prospects for its development.

To this end, the two delegations discussed the various aspects and orientations to ensure interoperability.



US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
TT

US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi group at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified, reported The Associated Press.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and "three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
Houthi attacks for months have targeted shipping through a waterway where $1 trillion in goods pass annually over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon. A ceasefire was announced last week.
The USS Stockdale was involved in a similar attack on Nov. 12.