Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'arNoam Moskowitz, Knesset spokesperson

Morocco and Israel agreed on Tuesday to establish legal cooperation, a new step in the normalization between the two countries, i24NEWS reports.

The agreement was announced during Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s visit to Rabat.

This partnership follows a series of bilateral agreements in areas as diverse as defense and security, economy and industry, technology, culture, and sports.

The legal cooperation, sealed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sa’ar and his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Ouahbi, is the first of its kind since the resumption of diplomatic ties between Israel and Morocco in late 2020.

It will result in, among other things, the "sharing of expertise" and the modernization of judicial systems through digitization, according to a joint statement.

The two sides plan to fight together against organized crime, terrorism, and human trafficking.

During the visit, Sa’ar will also meet with other Moroccan government political and security officials.

"I see great importance in strengthening bilateral relations and dialogue with Morocco in various fields, and policies, and I hope that my visit will contribute to this," he said.

Morocco renewed its official relations with Israel amid a string of normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries, brokered by the Trump administration in late 2020.

Since that time, several top Israeli officials have visited Morocco.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita hosted Foreign Minister Yair Lapid last August, in the first visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to Morocco since 2003.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Rabat several months later, where he signed a ground-breaking defense memorandum of understanding.

Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai visited Morocco in February, where she signed a new economic cooperation and trade agreement with her Moroccan counterpart.

Last month, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked visited Morocco, where she agreed with her Moroccan counterpart on a pilot program to bring foreign workers in the fields of nursing and construction from Morocco to Israel.

Last week, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi visited Morocco, in the first official visit of an IDF Chief of Staff to the Kingdom of Morocco. The aim of the visit was to learn from each other and share knowledge, and is part of the IDF’s overall efforts to broaden military cooperation with other countries.