Morocco and the United States are committed to fight terrorism, U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales said Thursday in Rabat.

"The commitment shared by the government of Morocco and the United States to fight and defeat terrorists is at the heart of a strong Moroccan-American partnership," Sales said at a press briefing following talks with Morocco's Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita.

"Terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaida continue to threaten and unite us in our determination to fight this scourge," he stressed.

Deeming talks with Bourita as "productive", the U.S. official also expressed the willingness of his country to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

He also hailed the "excellent" cooperation and alliance between the two countries to fight terrorism, particularly in the framework of Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), co-chaired by Morocco and the Netherlands.

The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the co-led initiative on improving capabilities for detecting and interdicting terrorist travel through enhanced terrorist screening and information sharing, he noted.

This new initiative, which is scheduled to be launched in September, will address potential weaknesses or gaps in states' capacities to develop watchlists and share information for screening purposes in accordance with the U.S.-drafted UN Security Council Resolution 2396.