Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, received Avril Haines, Director of US National Intelligence, September 19th in Rabat. This meeting between the Moroccan and American high-level security and intelligence officials cements the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in key transnational issues related to security.
The talks held yesterday in Rabat between Mr Hammouchi and Ms Haines addressed the security situation at the regional level and discussed the threats and challenges stemming from this situation in some parts of the world, said a statement from the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST). According to the same source, the discussions also touched upon the dangers posed by the connections between terrorist organizations and organized crime networks, including cybercrime, in addition to other forms of cross-border crime.
Mr. Hammouchi and Ms. Haines discussed, on the same occasion, ways to develop bilateral cooperation between the Moroccan and American security and intelligence services, for it to measure up to the strategic cooperation between the two countries and be in tune with the challenges inherent to the joint action for the preservation of security and peace at regional and international levels, the statement said.
This encounter between the two officials is indicative of the advanced level of bilateral partnership in terms of security and intelligence, taking into consideration that Ms Haines’ is a high-profile official currently heading and coordinating a number of agencies and US intelligence services, in view of the regularity and consistency of meetings between the two parties, and in light of the convergence of views on strategic issues of common interest.
This meeting comes after the bilateral high-level talks that Mr. Hammouchi held with the American official, on the sidelines of a working visit he made to the United States on June 13 and 14, 2022, according to the same statement.