Somalia and the Comoros agreed to send representatives to a meeting of foreign ministers of the Negev Forum - Walla! news

2023-06-28T16:18:06.061Z

Highlights: Morocco, which was supposed to host the conference in early July, postponed it because of the government's decision to promote construction in the settlements. Senior Israeli officials said that prior to the postponement, Israel had offered the two East African Arab countries, with which it does not have diplomatic relations, to attend the conference as observers, and they agreed. The participation of representatives of these two countries in the Negev Forum foreign ministers' meeting could have been a modest but significant advance toward normalization with Israel.

Morocco, which was supposed to host the conference in early July, postponed it because of the government's decision to promote construction in the settlements. Senior Israeli officials said that prior to the postponement, Israel had offered the two East African Arab countries, with which it does not have diplomatic relations, to attend the conference as observers, and they agreed

Video: Statements by foreign ministers at the Negev summit (Photo: GPO)

Somalia and the Comoros agreed to send senior representatives to a meeting of foreign ministers of the Negev Forum countries that was supposed to take place in early July in Morocco but was postponed, two senior Israeli officials familiar with the matter said.

Why it's important

Somalia and the Comoros are two Muslim-majority countries in East Africa and are members of the Arab League. The two countries do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
The participation of representatives of these two countries in the Negev Forum foreign ministers' meeting could have been a modest but significant advance toward normalization with Israel and gave renewed momentum to the Negev Forum.

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Participants in the Negev Forum in Sde Boker last year (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Backstage

Israeli officials said Somalia and the Comoros had been holding quiet talks with Israel in recent years, and officials from both countries had previously made secret visits to Israel.
In recent weeks, Israel offered the two countries to participate in the Negev Forum's foreign ministers' conference as observers, and they agreed.

Reminder

The Negev Forum was established in March 2022 at a conference in Sde Boker with the participation of the foreign ministers of Israel, the United States, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
The forum is intended to serve as a platform for regional cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, climate and security.
A second ministerial meeting of the Negev Forum was supposed to take place in March but was postponed several times due to concerns expressed by Arab countries that are members of the forum regarding Israeli government policy in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Foreign Minister Cohen (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Snapshot

Last Friday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita announced another postponement – the fifth in number – of the Negev Forum's meeting of foreign ministers from July to September.
Burita explained the postponement in the problematic political atmosphere due to tensions in the West Bank and the disagreement over the agenda of the meeting.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said at a press briefing on Sunday that the Moroccans decided to postpone the meeting because of the government's decision to advance planning and construction of 4,500 housing units in West Bank settlements.
"Two or three countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations were supposed to participate in the meeting. We believe that they will participate in the meeting in the future and this will be a step of normalization on their part," Cohen said.
Cohen spoke by phone on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and updated him on Israel's talks with Arab and Muslim countries with which it has no diplomatic relations.
According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, Cohen told Blinken that in order to maintain the momentum of the normalization process, a new date must be set for the meeting of foreign ministers of the Negev Forum, so that representatives of those countries can participate.

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