During his two-day working visit in Morocco, British minister of State for the Armed Forces, Mark Lancaster was received, Monday, by Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), the Lieutenant General and Inspector General of FAR. The talks examined military cooperation between the Armed Forces of the two countries, which includes mutual support, training, the organization of combined exercises, the exchange of information visits and participation in the various training sessions, according to a statement by the General Staff. The two officials also expressed their satisfaction with the positive results of this bilateral military cooperation and the excellent partnership between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the British Armed Forces. Moroccan-British military cooperation is governed by a Framework Agreement on military and technical Cooperation signed in 1993 and a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed in 2013. On the same day, Lancaster held talks with State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mounia Boucetta. During the meeting, the two officials welcomed the excellent relations between Morocco and the United Kingdom as well as the positive dynamics of their development, said a statement from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Boucetta highlighted the development of Morocco as a stable country in the region, as well as the assets and the experience of the Kingdom in the various areas of South-South cooperation, particularly in terms of defense and security, according to the same source. For his part, Lancaster said his country is interested in developing and strengthening relations of cooperation and partnership with Morocco, particularly in the framework of the Strategic Dialogue launched between the two countries in July 2018 in London and in the context of post-Brexit.
