Israel opens first national pavilion at Morocco defence show in Marrakesh

Israel has opened its first national pavilion at the Marrakesh Air Show in Morocco, marking its first official participation in a defence exhibition in the country. The event is taking place at the Marrakech Royal Moroccan Air Force Base and runs from October 7 to October 10. According to Israel's defence ministry, eight Israeli defence companies are exhibiting at the show.

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The ministry said the participation is the first of its kind in Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. It said the companies are presenting what it described as advanced, combat-proven technologies. Among those taking part are Elbit Systems, IAI and Rafael, which the ministry said are showing products and systems across air, land, sea, space, intelligence, cyber and digital domains.

The Marrakesh Air Show is held every two years and is aimed at civil and military aeronautics and space industries. Its setting at a Moroccan air force base gives the exhibition added visibility for defence manufacturers and officials from the region and beyond. The presence of an Israeli national pavilion also reflects the gradual expansion of ties between Morocco and Israel since they established relations in 2020.

The development comes after Morocco and Israel agreed last month to upgrade their diplomatic ties, including elevating their missions to embassies and appointing ambassadors. That agreement followed a meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, hosted by the US ambassador to the United Nations. The two sides also said they would expand air travel, including by reinstating direct flights operated by carriers from both countries.

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The defence exhibition is therefore taking place against a broader backdrop of deepening political and security engagement. Morocco is one of five countries that have pledged to send troops to Gaza under the US-backed International Stabilization Force as part of the proposed Board of Peace. That wider context gives the pavilion's opening significance beyond the trade fair itself, linking defence industry cooperation with evolving regional diplomacy.

What remains unclear is how much commercial or military cooperation will follow from the exhibition and whether the new diplomatic commitments will translate into further public-facing defence ties. The show continues until Saturday, and further announcements could emerge from meetings on the sidelines. For now, the opening of the pavilion stands as the clearest sign yet of the relationship's visible expansion in Morocco.

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