The foreign ministers of Israel and Morocco agreed to upgrade diplomatic ties including opening embassies and appointing ambassadors, according to a statement on Wednesday by the official Israeli government account in Arabic on X.
– Morocco was one of four Arab countries – along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – to move towards normalizing relations with Israel in 2020 under U.S.-engineered accords. Israel separately has peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.
– The deals had fueled Palestinian concerns on the viability of a long-standing pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood, in return for normal relations with Arab countries.
– The statement said a tripartite meeting was held in New York between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
– The officials affirmed commitment to a series of steps aimed at advancing ties between Israel and Morocco, including “elevating their respective diplomatic missions to the level of embassies, and appointing ambassadors,” according to the statement.
– They also agreed to expand flights between Israel and Morocco and work on finalizing agreements aimed at facilitating mutual investments and economic and trade ties.