India defence plant in Morocco: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is going on a two day visit to Morocco from September 21 to 23. This is first time ever that any Raksha Mantri from India is visiting the North African country. The visit is happening after invitation from Morocco’s Minister Delegate of National Defence Abdeltif Loudiyi. The trip shows how much India and Morocco are now coming close in defence and industry matters.
New Defence Plant
One of the biggest moments of this visit will be when Rajnath Singh opens a new factory made by Tata Advanced Systems Maroc at Berrechid. The plant will make the Wheeled Armoured Platform WhAP 8×8. This is a very special thing because this factory is the first Indian defence manufacturing unit in whole of Africa.
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It is seen as a milestone under India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat plan because it shows Indian defence industry is now going global. Officials are calling it a proud moment for India as the country is starting to build defence equipment outside its borders.
On his official X account, Rajnath Singh wrote that this factory is “the first Indian defence manufacturing facility on the African continent” and he said it is a big milestone under Aatmanirbhar Bharat which shows the growing reach of India’s defence industry. He also said, “A key highlight of the visit will be the inauguration of Tata Advanced Systems Maroc’s new manufacturing facility for the Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) 8×8 at Berrechid. This facility is the first-ever Indian defence manufacturing plant in Africa, which marks an important milestone that reflects the growing global footprint of India’s defence industry. I will also interact with the Indian community in Rabat.”
Meetings And MoU
During the trip Singh will meet his counterpart Abdeltif Loudiyi to talk about defence and strategic cooperation. He will also have a meeting with Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, reported Money Control. In that meeting both sides will look at how they can grow industrial work together.
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Both countries are also planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation. This MoU will give an official structure to expand ties in areas like training, exchanges and building defence industry links. The Ministry of Defence has said that Indian Navy ships have already been making port calls at Casablanca, and this new agreement will help make those ties stronger.
Apart from official work, Singh will spend time with the Indian community in Rabat. The government says this is also an important part of his visit as it helps keep people to people relations stronger.
