ADF STAFF
Morocco and Brazil are exploring a defense cooperation agreement that would include research, development, arms purchases and logistical support.
The Brazilian Senate approved the pact in May 2023. The cooperation agreement aligns with Morocco’s strategy of diversifying its security partnerships globally. According to the strategic intelligence company ADIT, Morocco’s military spending amounted to $5 billion, almost 4% of its gross domestic product in 2022.
Morocco and Brazil signed an agreement in 2019 to share military technology, which has been viewed as a start in Morocco’s intent to develop its own defense industry and reduce its dependence on foreign-made weapons. Under the agreement, Brazil would share military science and technology and offer training for Moroccan officers in advanced military technologies, according to ADIT.
The two countries, which are 7,000 kilometers apart, are supporting each other in other ways as well. They convened in Brazil in May 2023 for a meeting of the Brazil-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group. The group wants to strengthen dialogue between the two countries’ members of parliament and “promote cultural, economic and commercial partnership,” according to The North Africa Post. Chairman Tiao Medeiros said the countries share the same democratic values and stands on issues of common interest, including sustainable development, the fight against racism, climate change, and the promotion of regional and international peace and security.