Israeli-Arab summit preparations began in the United Arab Emirates for the 2nd Negev forum on Sunday, which will be held in Morocco, as the newly found diplomatic partners bet on strengthening inter-cooperation in many strategic areas.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced the Morocco meeting in his inaugural speech last week, which will be held in early March this year.
Shortly after the announcement, the United States commended the pivotal role the Kingdom plays in showing support to Palestinian people in the two-state solution, and the development of its relations with Israel.
According to “Times of Israel,” large delegations of officials from participating countries are attending the ongoing preparatory meetings ahead of their participation in the Negev Forum.
With the participation of Morocco, delegations are present from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in addition to Israel and the United States of America.
The third meeting of the steering committee of the forum, according to the Israeli media source, will be an “opportunity to enhance economic, security, tourism and environmental cooperation initiatives, as well as to identify joint initiatives that all countries can participate in.”
Alon Ushpiz, Director General of the Hebrew Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the head of Israel’s delegation, with over 20 senior officials of government ministries in the sectors of agriculture, tourism, energy, education, intelligence, defense and the economy.
Israel leads the education and tolerance group, and co-chairs the water and food security team with Morocco.
The US delegation participating in the Abu Dhabi meeting, according to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consists of Derek Chollet, advisor to the US State Department, Liz Allen, chief public diplomacy official, Mallory Stewart, foreign affairs assistant for arms control, and Andrew Plitt, Assistant Administrator for the Middle East of the United States Agency for International Development.
The US delegation includes Cindy McCain, US Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Yael Lambert, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Maura Barry, Senior Deputy Assistant to USAID, and Dana Stroll, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the United States in the Middle East, and Laura Lochman, deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy, and Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC.
The US commends pivotal role of Morocco and diplomatic efforts
The United States commended the role of Morocco, led by King Mohammed VI as chairman of the Al-Quds committee, in showing support to the Palestinian people and his efforts on furthering the two-state solution and peace in the middle east, ahead of the Negev Forum on Friday.
“Morocco has a unique relationship with the Palestinians, King Mohammed VI is the chairman of the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and we appreciate Morocco’s role in providing aid and assistance to the Palestinian people and supporting the two-state solution,” said the U.S. Department of State’s Spokesperson, Ned Price.
Commenting on the Morocco and Israeli relations, Price said that the Kingdom is a “leader”, stressing that ties between the Kingdom and Israel created “real benefits” for the people of both countries as well as “new opportunities for peace and prosperity”.
In the preliminary meetings that will extend until Tuesday, the working groups will focus on the priorities agreed upon at the previous summit. It mainly concerns food security, water technology, clean energy, tourism, health, education, coexistence and regional security.
During March of last year, the Israeli government met in the Negev desert with the foreign minister of Egypt, the first regional country to make peace with Israel, and his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco who “normalized” relations in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.
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