Morocco, Pakistan Carry Out Naval Exercise Near Straits of Gibraltar

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The exercise is part of the two countries’ determination to boost ties in defense and other fields.

Rabat – Morocco and Pakistan carried out a naval exercise on Tuesday, August 10 near the Straits of Gibraltar. Pakistan participated in the exercise with its Navy Ship Zulfiqar, while Morocco deployed its Royal Navy Ship Sultan Moulay Ismael.

A statement from the Pakistani embassy in Rabat said that the naval exercise featured different maneuvers in an effort to improve the military cooperation between the two nations. The Pakistani Navy greatly values its growing cooperation with the Royal Moroccan Navy and considers it a privilege to share expertise for both maritime forces,” the embassy said. The exercise also serves as an opportunity for Pakistan to reaffirm its commitment to improve cooperation with “friendly” navies across the world, the embassy added.

Morocco and Pakistan maintain good diplomatic relations. The two countries expressed determination to boost ties on different occasions. Last year, the Moroccan embassy in Islamabad,  Pakistan  announced that both countries will renew their ties and further improve bilateral cooperation. The embassy also emphasized that both countries intend to hold a series of high-level meetings to explore potential cooperation in a number of fields, including defense and politics.

The two countries also seek to boost trade cooperation. Statistics show that Pakistan is a major investor in Morocco’s fertilizer production. Statistics further portrayed that trade between Morocco and Pakistan almost tripled between 2007 and 2018. Morocco’s exports to Pakistan jumped from $147 million to more than $348 million. Meanwhile, imports from Pakistan moved from $11,5 million to over $35 million during the same period.

Courtesy Morocco World News