Brussels, 11/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday last, Morocco and the EU held a meeting on terrorism at which their detailed exchange of views was on European aid in support of the fight against terrorism headed by Rabat. Gilles de Kerchove, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, chaired these meetings on the European side (at troika level). According to a Moroccan source, both delegations held an exchange of comments on the various aspects of the terrorist threat. The “Cherifian Kingdom” is currently in a state of vigilance since the arrest of members of a network with ramifications in Belgium, which served as a base for supplies of material and equipment. According to Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, the “largest arsenal that we have discovered for the past 15 years was imported in two waves, 1993-1994 and 2000, from Belgium via other Maghrebins established in that country, entering Morocco via Ceuta and Melilla, hidden in vehicles and then distributed between caches in Casablanca and Nador”.
Morocco is keen to demonstrate that the threat is not just an internal threat. The authorities recently told the Moroccan press that the head of the dismantled network had stayed in Afghanistan in 2001 and then in the underground movement of the Algerian Salafist group for preaching and combat (GSPC) in 2005.
On Friday, it was above all a question of UN strategy on combating terrorism as well as various international conventions on combating this phenomenon. The meeting was in particular an opportunity for both sides to restate their mutual commitment to strengthening exchange and cooperation in this field. Both parties carried out an assessment of the cooperation programme adopted in June 2005 in Rabat and an examination of the prospects of strengthening this cooperation.
According to a European source, the meeting was held in the framework of cooperation that the EU has undertaken, on a bilateral level, with a group of countries classified as “priority” counties, i.e. high risk countries: Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and Tunisia. Relations with these countries consist of organising regular meetings to assess existing threats and to define support needs in terms of material and training. With Morocco, in particular, last week's meeting was on the offer of support for border control (cars, computers and ad hoc training). (F.B.)