Morocco and Saudi Arabia reinforce security partnership
Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance of Morocco (DGSN-DGST), attended the second edition of the World Defence Show in Saudi Arabia, the world defence exhibition that brings together major arms and military equipment manufacturers in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which is being held from 4 to 8 February.
The Moroccan security chief met with Lieutenant General Abdulaziz bin Mohamed al-Howairini, head of the Saudi State Security Service, who invited Hammouchi to attend the event, which aims to showcase the latest developments in the global defence and security industry and international satellite technologies.
On the occasion of his visit, Abdellatif Hammouchi made a field visit to several halls of this international exhibition of defence and security industries, and listened to the explanations of the exhibitors and experts in this field, in order to work for the security and stability of the world, as reported by various media such as Hespress.
On the sidelines of this visit, the Moroccan Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance held several bilateral meetings with senior officials of the Saudi security services, and discussed the level of cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and Saudi Arabia in the field of security, as well as mechanisms to develop and strengthen this cooperation demonstrating the close bond between the two nations
Close collaboration between Morocco and Saudi Arabia
It is worth mentioning that this visit comes at a time when security ties between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are characterised by close cooperation after the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance and the deputy head of the Saudi State Security Service concluded, during the year 2023 in Rabat, a cooperation agreement in the field of the fight against terrorism and its financing.
At this meeting, the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, received in the Moroccan capital Abdullah Fahad Salih al-Owais, Vice-President of the Saudi State Security Service, who paid a working visit to Morocco at the head of a large security delegation.
The Saudi expedition included the head of the General Directorate for Combating Extremism and the director of the General Directorate for Conventions and International Cooperation, as well as Saudi State security experts and officials, as reported at the time by the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).
At the end of the meeting, Abdellatif Hammouchi and Salih al-Owais signed a cooperation agreement between the DGST and the Saudi State Security Presidency on counter-terrorism and the fight against the financing of extremist groups.
The Moroccan Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance also took part in the 49th annual meeting of the Higher Council of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), which was held in Riyadh last November. Hammouchi participated as a member of the newly created Higher Council of NAUSS.
The Higher Council is the highest executive body of NAUSS, responsible for defining the overall policies of the institution and identifying its main scientific, administrative and financial focal points.
Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, the current Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the NAUSS Board of Governors, chaired this 2023 annual meeting.
All these examples demonstrate the strength and depth of cooperative relations in the field of intelligence and close security coordination between Morocco and Saudi Arabia, demonstrating the will of both nations to consolidate bilateral cooperation in the service of the national security of both countries.