Morocco suspends Negev Summit until September due to ‘political context’ in region

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar

RABAT, Morocco (AA) - Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita announced the second Negev Summit which was slated for July would be held in September “if the context is favorable,” media reports said Friday.

"We hope that the context will be favorable to the holding of this important event,” Bourita said at a news conference after meeting his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, in Rabat, according to Morocco's official MAP news agency.

Bourita said efforts were made to organize the forum during the summer but “problems of scheduling and dates had prevented it from taking place, citing the political context which might not allow this meeting to produce the results expected from this event.”

“The Negev Forum stands for an idea of cooperation and dialogue, contrary to anything that is provocative action, unilateral action, or a decision carried by radicals on both sides, but especially on the Israeli side, in relation to the occupied Arab territories,” he added.

The Negev Forum was established in March 2022 in Negev in southern Israel, as part of normalization deals between Israel and four Arab countries -- the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The first summit in March was held at the foreign ministers level where working groups were established to enhance cooperation in regional security, health, education, tolerance, water security and tourism.

The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with Israel in 2020. They have since strengthened ties with the signing of several agreements, including economic and trade deals along with agreements on regulating the entry of citizens and flights.