The 2024 Appropriation Bill, which was presented before King Mohammed VI at the council of ministers on Thursday, constitutes a considerable development in national budget, shifting notably towards the defense sector with an allocated 12 billion dollars.
An additional $1 billion investment to acquire cutting-edge military equipment is put at the armed forces’ disposal to address the ever-changing security situation in the region.
The bill also provides for more human resources for the military, namely 7,000 positions for the armed forces.
Morocco has being recently diversifying its arms suppliers, mirroring a will to modernize and strengthen its arsenal, which boasts Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones, Israeli Barak MX systems, French-manufactured DT26 E model drones, US JSOW guided glide bombs and Himars rocket systems, India mobile multi-axle trucks, among others.
The kingdom had increased its defense budget for 2023 to $10.9 billion, up from $10.53 billion in 2022.