Morocco ready to host second Negev Forum in September if context is favorable, FM says

Morocco is ready to host the second edition of the Negev Forum this autumn, and hopes that the political context will be favorable, said, on Friday in Rabat, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita.

“We hope that the context will be favorable to the holding of this important event on the one hand, but also that it will produce results on the other,” said Bourita at a joint press briefing following his working meeting with Swiss Federal Councilor, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, who is on a working visit to Morocco.

“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,” said the minister.

“The Kingdom 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,” noted Bourita, confirming thus that the Negev summit has been postponed due to unfavorable “political context.”

He stressed that there had been attempts to organize this Forum during the summer, but problems of agenda and dates had prevented it from taking place, citing the ongoing political context which might not allow this meeting to produce the expected results.

In this regard, Bourita stressed that the process is still underway to optimize the role and contribution of this Forum in favor of all actions for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

Morocco was set to hold the second Negev Forum in mid-July, convening officials from all countries that signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords to re-establish ties with Israel.

But converging reports indicated earlier this week that Morocco may have decided to cancel the Negev summit due to its stance against Israel’s settlement plans in the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

During the press briefing, Bourita reiterated Morocco’s traditional opposition to any moves and decisions that would cause further political stalemate and hamper the international community’s attempts to de-escalate the Palestinian-Israeli tensions.

“Morocco is following the concerning situation that the occupied Palestinian territories are witnessing closely,” Bourita said, emphasizing that such development comes amid already heated regional tensions.
“The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its rejection of all Israeli violations and unilateral actions that inflame the situation, negatively impact appeasement efforts and hinder the conditions for reactivating the peace process in the region,” he added.

In particular, “the Kingdom denounces the recent Israeli attacks on the West Bank town of Jenin, which have resulted in several victims and injuries, and expresses Morocco’s total solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people”, the Minister stressed.

“Morocco also rejects the Israeli government’s recent decision to expand settlements in the West Bank and notes with satisfaction the international reactions rejecting Israel’s settlement policy,” added Bourita.

“Morocco remains confident that negotiations and dialogue are the only means of establishing a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region, within the framework of the two-state solution, an Israeli State and a Palestinian State, established on the June 1967 borders, with East Al Quds as its capital, living side by side in peace and security,” the Foreign Minister stated.