Morocco and UN to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism

Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita said that counter-terrorism cooperation between Morocco and the UN is "strong and fruitful" after a high-level meeting with experts and officials from 23 countries, organised the United Nations Office for Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) in Marrakech.

The meeting dealt with security threats in the Sahel as well as the growing presence of ISIS in the continent, and symbolized Morocco’s commitment to regional cooperation to combat these threats. The latest Global Terrorism Index ranked Morocco among the world’s safest nations.

His comments came on Friday, during a celebration of the first anniversary of the opening of the Rabat-based United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa. During the celebration, Bourita and Vladimir Voronkov, the Under Secretary General the UNOCT, agreed to strengthen the “strategic dialogue” between Morocco and the UNOCT to fight terrorism.

Bourita also spoke of Morocco's participation in regional conferences and partnerships with the UN and other African nations, which protect its security interests. Bourita added that the counter-terrorism training centre in Rabat is the first of its kind in Africa and it already delivering tangible results in its first year. He added that the counter-terrorism training centre focuses not only on theoretical improvements to counter terrorism, but also on enacting tangible measures and projects to produce results.

The UN's Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa provides training to African entities to combat threats, by relying on a pool of domestic and international experts. Marrakech also recently hosted the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

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