Per the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), the FAR and the United States Armed Forces are co-organizing the 20th edition of the African Lion military exercise, underway until May 31.
On this occasion, an opening ceremony was organized on May 20 at the headquarters of the South Zone General Staff in Agadir, marking the official launch of this multinational military exercise in the presence of representatives of the participating countries.
During this ceremony, Major General Mohammed Benlouali, Chief of Staff of the Southern Zone, affirmed that the African Lion exercise reflects twenty years of fruitful cooperation, distinguished partnership, and constant commitment to the values of peace and security, commending the spirit of mutual trust between Morocco and the United States.
For his part, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), Major General Todd R. Wasmund, stated that “Morocco will always remain the core of the African Lion exercise”, expressing his gratitude to the FAR for their “enduring” commitment to this exercise over 20 years of partnership.
Scheduled to take place in Benguerir, Agadir, Tan-Tan, Akka and Tifnit, the African Lion will include several activities such as tactical, land, maritime, and air exercises, combined, day and night, a special forces exercise, airborne operations, as well as an operational planning exercise for executives of the Task Force staff.
Over 7,000 elements of the armed forces from around twenty countries in addition to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are taking part in these large-scale military maneuvers alongside the FAR and the US Armed Forces
This twentieth edition testifies to the sustainability that characterizes the cooperation between the FAR and the US Armed Forces, reflecting the historic and solid links uniting the two countries.