Morocco plays active role in advancing a new regional order
A rare regional summit
An unprecedented diplomatic summit was convened this week in Israel’s Negev Desert, hosted by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, with the participation of the U.S Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco. The participation of Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in the Negev Summit provided Morocco an opportunity to take part in an emerging regional framework of cooperation, one in which the five regional actors share common concerns and at the same time believe there are greater opportunities for collaboration and enhanced ties between them. As the summit began, a terrorist attack was carried out in the city of Hadera (30 miles north of Tel Aviv) by two Islamic State-affiliated Israeli-Arab citizens, resulting in the killing of two Israelis. The attack was immediately condemned by the six ministers participating in the summit.
New opportunities for regional cooperation
While the summit was historically and symbolically important it also produced concrete results, most notably the creation of a permanent annual forum of the six countries, as well as six working groups focusing on security and counterterrorism, energy, tourism, health, education, and food and water security. Also, the theme of building a new regional security architecture was highlighted by several participants, with the aim of demonstrating a unified front vis-a-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was agreed that talks will continue on the establishment of a regional framework of cooperation against ballistic missiles, drones and piracy in the Red Sea.
Iran, extremism and US policy are common concerns
The senior representatives from the region certainly shared concerns over the Biden Administration’s Middle East policy and were attempting to convince US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to refrain from lifting the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation. Moreover, the six foreign ministers strongly condemned terrorism and violence, stressing that the summit is the best answer to those elements which are trying to undermine peace and normalization. Blinken and the four Arab FM’s highlighted the importance of the Palestinian issue and expressed their support for a two-state solution as the best way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while Israel’s Foreign Minister expressed the hope that Palestinians will benefit in the future from Arab-Israeli normalization.
Morocco’s role
As a signatory of the Abraham Accords, Morocco’s participation in the summit was a natural decision. For Foreign Minister Bourita, it was a first visit to Israel, but he announced he plans to return for a second visit in the coming months which will be devoted to the bilateral Moroccan-Israeli relationship. Bourita noted that when he visits he will announce the upgrade of Moroccan diplomatic representation in Israel (to the embassy level). In a press conference at the end of the summit, Bourita spoke of the historic close ties between Jews and Moroccans and Morocco’s conviction in advancing relations between the two countries, stating the move to improve ties with the Jewish state are not an opportunistic move. He voiced Morocco’s support for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution and the 1967 lines and strongly denounced the terrorist attack in Hadera that took place the day before and stressed the summit is the “best response to such attacks”.
In a step that can be seen as an achievement for Moroccan foreign policy, Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid issued a statement after his meeting with Bourita according to which the two countries would work together to counter “attempts to weaken Moroccan sovereignty and territorial integrity”, which in practical terms means that Israel supports Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara. At the end of his Israel trip, Bourita rushed back to Morocco so he could host Secretary Blinken in Rabat the next day. Morocco also helped facilitate a bilateral meeting in Rabat between Blinken and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed.
Conclusion
The Negev Summit was a first step in launching the new regional forum and more such summits are expected to take place in the future, as well as meetings of the six new working groups which will likely begin soon. The new regional order which began to take shape in 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords is moving to the next phase of greater cooperation and collaboration, facing tough challenges but also greater opportunities.
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