Moroccan military commander visits Israel for defence conference

Belkhir El Farouk arrives in Tel Aviv to take part in 'exchange of knowledge and know-how between armies'

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi receives his Moroccan counterpart Lieutenant General Belkhir El Farouk during an official ceremony in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. AFP

The Inspector General of Morocco's Royal Armed Forces has arrived in Israel for a defence conference, the Moroccan military said on Tuesday.

Lt Gen Belkhir El Farouk is to take part in the International Operational Innovation Conference in Tel Aviv from September 12 to 15, involving 25 military missions from all over the world.

His participation "is part of a multilateral framework to promote the exchange of knowledge and know-how between the participating armies", a Moroccan military statement said.

"It also aims to lay the foundations for a solid collaboration in the field of multidimensional defence and military innovation."

Lt Gen El Farouk was officially received by the honour guard of the Chief of the General Staff, the Israeli army wrote on Twitter.

Morocco established diplomatic relations with Israel in late 2020 under an agreement brokered by the administration of president Donald Trump, which also led to the US recognising Morocco's claim to sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

Since the signing of the Abraham Accords and the subsequent normalisation deals with Morocco and Sudan, Israel and Bahrain, Israel has been seeking to boost its ties with several Arab countries.