British minister of State for the Armed Forces, Mark Lancaster is on a two-day working visit to the Kingdom. He was received, Monday in Rabat, by Minister delegate to the head of government, in charge of the National Defense Administration Abdeltif Loudyi. During this meeting, Lancaster was accompanied by an important delegation including Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer, British Senior Defense Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa, and Thomas Reilley, British ambassador accredited in Rabat, says Monday a statement by the National Defense Administration. During their discussions, the two officials praised the long-standing relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries in many areas, marked by the values of friendship and mutual respect. They also commended the initiation in 2018 of the strategic dialogue between the two Kingdoms encompassing the political-diplomatic, economic, military and security, as well as cultural dimensions, which opens new horizons for the deepening of bilateral cooperation, the same source adds. It notes that the two parties also exchanged views on the regional security situation, particularly in the Mediterranean area and the Sahel-Saharan strip. The two ministers reviewed the various aspects of bilateral cooperation. Regular and diversified, this cooperation concerns in particular the training of executives, the sharing of expertise and the organization of joint exercises. It is also marked by the regular holding of joint military commissions and frequent exchanges of visits by senior officials, the statement says. During their talks, the two officials reiterated their common willingness to further deepen bilateral defense cooperation, particularly in the field of defense industry, which could be integrated in a mutually beneficial way through sustainable investment and industrial development partnerships, the same source underlines.
