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In a historic first, Israel hosts commander of Moroccan armed forces

Lt. Gen. Belkhir el-Farouk will take part in the International Operational Innovation Conference, which the IDF is set to host.

An honor guard welcomes then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi in Rabat, July 19, 2022. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
An honor guard welcomes then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi in Rabat, July 19, 2022. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

Lt. Gen. Belkhir el-Farouk, inspector general of the Royal Armed Forces of Morocco, arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for an international military conference. Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, led an honor guard to greet him.

It was the first time a leader of an Arab country’s military paid a public visit to Israel.

El-Farouk will take part in the International Operational Innovation Conference, which the IDF is set to host. Delegations from 25 different countries are expected to attend.

“It will lay the foundations for solid cooperation in the field of multi-dimensional defense and military renewal,” Israel’s army said in a statement, reported i24News.

The two countries normalized relations in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by Israel and the United States.

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