MEDays 2022: Abraham Accords opened huge prospects for cooperation in Middle East (Experts)
The Abraham Accords have offered a “huge potential” for cooperation in the Middle East, said international experts participating in the MEDays 2022 Forum, organized by Amadeus Institute in Tangier November 2-5.
Speaking at a panel entitled “Paradigm shifts: what developments in the Middle East?”, vice president of the US think tank American Foreign Policy Council, Ilan Berman, said “we are clearly living in a new era… The Abrahamic Accords are not artificial, but organic.”
“There is a tendency to say that these accords are the product of the Trump administration. But, in my opinion, this is incorrect,” he said. In this sense, the US expert recalled, as an example, the cultural ties between Morocco and Israel and the large Moroccan diaspora established in Israel.
“The Abraham accords have a strategic logic, and that is why they have proved so durable,” said the US expert, who highlighted the enormous opportunities that have not yet been explored by these accords. In this regard, he pleaded in particular for the strengthening of social connections and intellectual dialogue between Arab and Israeli think tanks.
“Morocco, which is one of the largest global producers of fertilizer, and Israel, which has a leading expertise in irrigation, could strengthen their collaboration in this area for the benefit of Africa,” he underlined.
In the same vein, president of the Middle East Institute, Paul Salem, stressed that Morocco’s fertilizer reserves are “just as important as oil and gas,” noting that Morocco will have to play a “crucial” regional role in the coming years, especially in a context of food insecurity.
For the US political scientist, “the breakthrough between Israel and the Arab countries is extremely significant and positive” and should be seized to explore new avenues of partnership.
“The potential is enormous in tourism, which has already begun with direct lines, as well as in matters of food security and the possibility for Morocco to cope with water stress by relying on the expertise of Israel that has developed an exceptionally advanced technology,” said Moroccan Ambassador at Large, Assia Bensalah Alaoui.
President of the Emirates Policy Center think tank, Ebtesam Al Ketbi, said that the Abraham Accords offer new opportunities and change the regional dynamics of partnerships.
These accords also create a new regional dynamic and show that it is possible to address the Palestinian issue and resolve it through dialogue between different regional actors, said Ebtesam Al Ketbi.
The 14th edition of the MEDays Forum, held under the theme “From crises to crises: towards a new world order?” ended Saturday evening in Tangier.
The Forum was marked by the participation of several leaders and experts, including president of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Pereira Neves, whose country was awarded the Grand Prix MEDays 2022, in recognition of its standing as “a model of democratic development, stability and economic resilience, and a country fully committed to South-South cooperation.”
Over the past eight years, Cape Verde has consistently shown high level performances in development indices, ranking 7th in the Africa Attractiveness Index and 4th in the Political Stability Index in the 2022 ranking of the Amadeus Institute and Casablanca Finance City Authority.
