Rajnath Singh in Morocco: First Indian Defence Plant in Africa Inaugurated

Rabat – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is on a two-day visit to Morocco, the first ever by an Indian Defence Minister. He met Morocco’s Trade Minister Ryad Mezzour on Tuesday to discuss closer ties in defence, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Both sides stressed the need to boost industrial cooperation.

The visit, held at the invitation of Morocco’s Defence Minister Delegate Abdeltif Loudiyi, aims to deepen strategic relations between the two nations.

On Monday, Singh met the Indian community in Rabat, praising their contributions to Morocco and their continued connection with India. He also spoke about India’s progress in the past decade in areas like the economy, manufacturing, technology, and defence.

A key moment of the trip was the launch of Tata Advanced Systems Maroc’s new plant in Berrechid. The facility will build the Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) 8x8, becoming the first Indian defence manufacturing unit in Africa. Officials say this marks an important step for India’s defence exports under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.