India and Morocco held their inaugural Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, marking a fresh push to expand bilateral defence cooperation across training, military exercises, peacekeeping, cyber security and defence manufacturing.
The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Defence Amitabh Prasad and Chief of the 2nd Bureau of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces Brigadier General Abdellah Athmani.
The two sides discussed a wide range of areas of mutual interest, including training and education, peacekeeping operations, military exercises, military medicine, cyber defence and defence industries. They also agreed to further strengthen defence ties as India-Morocco bilateral cooperation moves towards its 70th anniversary in 2027.
The Indian delegation included officials from the Department of Defence, the three Services, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, Department of Defence Production, Directorate General Armed Forces Medical Services, DRDO and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Focus on defence manufacturing and technology
The Moroccan delegation, visiting India from September 7 to 10, is also exploring opportunities for greater industrial and technological cooperation.
During the visit, the delegation interacted with Indian defence industries at DPSU Bhawan in New Delhi to gain an understanding of the country’s expanding defence manufacturing capabilities.
Both sides agreed to explore cooperation in areas including co-production, joint ventures, technology collaboration, maintenance and sustainment.
The Moroccan delegation is also scheduled to visit Army Hospital (Research & Referral) to gain an overview of India’s military medicine capabilities.
JDC established under 2025 defence MoU
The inaugural JDC meeting is part of the institutional mechanism created under an India-Morocco defence cooperation agreement.
A Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation was signed during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Morocco in September 2025. The visit provided fresh momentum to bilateral defence relations and laid the foundation for a more structured engagement between the two countries.
The establishment of the Joint Defence Committee is expected to provide a regular framework for identifying new areas of cooperation and strengthening existing defence ties between India and Morocco.
