Morocco announced on Friday that the second Negev Forum summit, which includes Israel, the United States, Morocco, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, will not take place in July as expected.
Morocco is ready to host the Negev Forum summit this autumn and hopes that the political context will be favorable, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita told the press in Rabat, following his talks with Swiss Federal Councilor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis.
Bourita said that there had been “attempts to organize this Forum during the summer, but the political context might not allow this meeting to produce the results expected,” referring to the recent escalation in the West Bank and a series of pronouncements by Israel over the expansion of housing construction in the settlements.
The minister added, “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, especially on the Israeli side, in relation to the occupied Arab territories.”
“Morocco considers the Negev Forum to be an ultimate and relevant framework for regional cooperation and dialogue, which can provide positive responses to a number of challenges,” he noted.
The first summit was held last year in Israel’s Negev desert with the participation of the same countries.
