Morocco accounts for 24% of armaments exports from Israel in 2022, an increase from 7% in 2021, according to data from the Defense Ministry cited by Israeli media.
Data from the Defense Ministry issued on Wednesday revealed a surge in the importation of weapons from Israel, from Morocco and other countries like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
North America recorded a decline of 1% from 12% in 2021, similarly to Europe, where the import rate of Israeli weapons fell from 41% in 2021 to 29% in 2022.
Following the normalization of ties with Arab states in 2020, the Israeli military boosted its defense exports to Arab countries, increasing them from $11.4 billion in 2021 to a total of $12.5 billion in 2022.
“Arab countries that recently normalized relations with Israel had a significant demand for Israeli weapons,” said Israeli officials.
A pact of military cooperation between Morocco and Israel was signed in Rabat in November 2021. A bilateral agreement that allowed the Royal Armed Forces to purchase the Barak MX anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense system from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the firm led by Amir Peretz, in February 2022 for 500 million dollars.
The FAR owns the Israeli Skylock Dome anti-drone defense system and recently placed a $22 million order with IAI for a batch of Israeli Harop-type drones, also known as kamikaze unmanned aircraft.
Additionally, the reopening of diplomatic ties between the two nations promoted business ventures between Morocco and Israel.
Trade between Morocco and Israel during the first four months of 2023 showed a significant increase of 150% compared to the same period last year, totaling around $29 million, according to information from the Institute of Peace for the Abraham Accords.
These exchanges had a value of around $4 million, which represents a significant increase of more than 15.5% from 2022.
Following an increase in Moroccan visits to Israel, Morocco and Israel also explored simplifying the visa requirements for Moroccans traveling there.
200 Moroccan tourists traveled to Israel in April alone, bringing the total number of Moroccan visitors to Israel in the first four months of 2023 to 1,400, a 100% increase over the same period in 2022, according to a report by the Institute of Peace for the Abraham Accords.
It also recognised that the conditions for immigrants from the nations covered by the Abraham Accords to Israel have improved in terms of travel.
Based on data from the report, thousands of Israelis have visited the nations that signed the agreements, including Morocco.
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