A visit that consolidates an existing framework
A police agreement with operational scope
The context: criminal routes that are no longer local
Hammouchi and the model of external cooperation
An open debate on dependency and intelligence
The security agreement between Morocco and Sweden is part of a long-standing dynamic, although it is now being formalised with greater visibility. It is neither an isolated move nor a one-off reaction.
Morocco has spent years building a network of cooperation with various European countries based on intelligence-sharing and operations which, in several cases, have had a direct impact on preventing threats on European soil.
A visit that consolidates an existing framework
As highlighted by our Atalayar contributor Mohamed Larbi, Abdellatif Hammouchi’s visit to Sweden on 20 and 21 April 2026 has been the real cornerstone of this rapprochement. It is not merely a ceremonial signing, but a series of working meetings with top-level Swedish officials.
In Stockholm, Hammouchi met with the Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, and the head of the national police, Petra Lundh. The discussions centred on shared risks and the need to consolidate a more stable cooperation, less dependent on ad hoc agreements and more geared towards ongoing collaboration.
Larbi notes that the objective expressed in these meetings was precisely that: to transform the relationship into a “lasting strategic partnership”, capable of responding to threats that are no longer local but transnational.
Abdellatif Hammouchi met with the Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, and the head of the national police, Petra Lundh
A police agreement with operational scope
The core of the visit was the signing of a protocol between the DGSN-DGST and the Swedish police. On paper, the agreement formalises and structures something that was already partly in place: information exchange, police coordination and technical support.
But the scope is broader. It covers areas such as terrorism, violent extremism, organised crime, illicit trafficking networks and cybercrime. In other words, the range of threats currently sweeping across Europe without clear borders.
According to information from Larbi, the Swedish side has not only recognised the usefulness of the Moroccan model but has even gone so far as to describe it as an operational benchmark in the region. There has even been discussion of incorporating Morocco into European mechanisms for searching for wanted persons, which represents a qualitative leap in cooperation.
The context: criminal routes that are no longer local
Swedish interest cannot be understood without the domestic context. For years, the Nordic country has been grappling with a growing problem of organised crime linked to international networks. This is not merely a matter of urban violence, but of structures operating across borders, with logistics spread between southern and northern Europe.
Several European investigations have identified routes connecting ports in the western Mediterranean with destinations in Scandinavia. These include hubs in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, and indirect links with North Africa.
In this framework, Morocco does not appear as a peripheral player, but as a key control point on certain transit routes and in the gathering of operational intelligence.
Abdellatif Hammouchi met with the head of the national police, Petra Lundh
Hammouchi and the model of external cooperation
The figure of Abdellatif Hammouchi appears repeatedly in this type of agreement. Not as a ceremonial figure, but as a central component of a strategy that has shaped what some analysts already describe as ‘intelligence diplomacy’.
Under his leadership, the Moroccan services have expanded their presence in cooperation networks with Europe, Africa and international organisations. The focus is not merely on sharing information, but on integrating it into more stable operational structures.
This type of cooperation is not a recent development. In 2019, information provided by Moroccan services was key to dismantling jihadist cells in Spain linked to networks in the Sahel. This was not an isolated operation, but part of a pattern of intelligence exchange that has been repeated in recent years.
In 2021, another joint operation between Morocco and Spain led to the arrest of radicalised individuals on Spanish territory who maintained active links abroad. In both cases, the approach was preventive rather than reactive: acting before the networks could consolidate.
In this context, Spain occupies an intermediary position that is difficult to replace. Not only because of geographical proximity, but because many of the criminal routes of concern to northern countries cross or pass indirectly through Spanish territory.
This raises an issue that is beginning to emerge in the European debate: if bilateral cooperation between northern European countries and Morocco intensifies, Spain’s intermediary role could change – without disappearing entirely, but losing its centrality in certain operational flows.
Condecoración a Abdellatif Hammouchi
For years, Morocco’s security relationship focused on France and Spain. That axis remains relevant, but it has expanded to include countries that until now had less direct exposure to threats from the Mediterranean region.
Sweden is not an isolated case, but an example of a broader trend: northern European countries beginning to forge direct security ties with southern actors.
An open debate on dependency and intelligence
Such agreements also open up an uncomfortable discussion regarding governance. The growing reliance on external intelligence raises questions about institutional oversight, transparency and the legal limits of cooperation.
These are frameworks that are rarely explained in detail, yet they affect how investigations, surveillance and judicial coordination are managed within Europe.
All the signs suggest this is not an isolated incident. The trend points towards an expansion of such agreements, with Morocco strengthening its role in areas such as cybersecurity, migration and transnational crime.
In this sense, the agreement with Sweden is not the starting point, but rather a confirmation of a broader process: a gradual reorganisation of how Europe structures its external and internal security, with non-European actors becoming increasingly integrated into the system.