Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s minister of foreign affairs, African cooperation, and Moroccan expatriates, said on Friday in Rabat that his country is prepared to host the second Negev Forum this fall and expects the political environment will be conducive.

Following his discussions with Swiss Federal Advisor, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, who is on a working visit to Morocco, Bourita said at a press conference, “We hope that the context will be favorable for the holding of this important event on the one hand, and that it will produce results on the other.” Cassis is currently in Morocco on a working visit.

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

The Negev Forum, according to the Kingdom, “is the ultimate and pertinent framework for regional cooperation and dialogue, which can provide constructive responses to a number of challenges,” said Bourita.

Indicating the political environment that would hinder this conference from yielding the outcomes anticipated from this event, he emphasized that attempts to convene this Forum throughout the summer had failed due to schedule and date conflicts.

In this regard, Bourita emphasized that efforts were currently being made to maximize the Forum’s participation and role in support of all initiatives aimed at promoting regional peace, stability, and prosperity.

Read Also: Moroccan, Swiss MPs Discuss Strengthening Parliamentary Relations

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The Moroccan government has requested a rescheduling, which has resulted in another postponement of the widely awaited Negev Forum, which was initially planned to happen in March.

According to Axios, the main cause of the first delay was attributed to concerns expressed by Arab members regarding public involvement with the right-wing Israeli government.

The most recent hurdle occurred when the Moroccan government asked to move the Negev Forum from June 25 to July.

Israeli officials said that the reason given for their request was the approaching Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which starts just a few days after the scheduled date.

Proposed changes concern the name and membership of the Negev Forum in addition to the dates that will be changed.

The group’s name, which now relates to Israel’s Negev region, has been changed at the request of the American administration and other member states.

According to Israeli authorities, using a broader term or an acronym would make it easier for other countries in the region to be included, according to Axios.

The Association of Middle East and North African Countries (AMENA) has been proposed as a name for the forum.

The term AMENA PD, which stands for the Association of Middle East and North African Countries Peace and Development, was proposed as an option by Morocco.

A focal point for regional multilateral cooperation in fields like water, security, climate change, economy, and health is the Negev Forum.

Foreign ministers from Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco attended the inaugural Negev Forum meeting in Israel in March 2022, along with Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

Particularly in view of Israel’s enhanced influence over the previous year, Arab nations have been circumspect in their interactions with Israel and the planning of public events.

Read Also: Dakhla city is proposed by the US Secretary of State for the upcoming Negev conference

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The Negev Conference, which began this week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, included high-level delegations from Israel and the six Conference Members: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, the United States.

Alun Oshivez, the director general of the ministry of foreign affairs, as well as officials from the ministries of agriculture, health, defense, intelligence, tourism, energy, education, the economy, the water authority, and foreign affairs make up the Israeli delegation.

أصدر مسؤولون من البحرين ومصر وإسرائيل والمغرب والإمارات والولايات المتحدة إطار التعاون الإقليمي لمنتدى النقب. تحدد هذه الوثيقة الهامة الإستراتيجية التوجيهية لدعم الازدهار والتكامل الإقليمي. https://t.co/GmCznIehPr

— U.S. Embassy Morocco (@USEmbMorocco) January 12, 2023

The potential of holding the Negev Forum Foreign Ministers’ Summit in Morocco in the near future was brought up during the discussion. Eli Cohen, the Israeli foreign minister, would likely attend, and the summit would likely take place in the Sahara region of Morocco and the city of Dakhla.

The working groups of the Forum discussed potential areas of collaboration in security, intelligence, economics, agriculture, water, tourism, and other fields.

اختتم كبار المسؤولين في #NegevForum اجتماعاتهم في أبو ظبي، حيث أطلقوا إطار التعاون الإقليمي لمنتدى النقب ووضعوا مقترحات لتعزيز التكامل والتعاون الإقليمي. https://t.co/0VPB69e943

— U.S. Embassy Morocco (@USEmbMorocco) January 12, 2023

With the participation of the foreign ministers of the six nations, the Negev Forum was held for the first time last March at Kibbutz Sadeh Booker in the Negev region of Israel. Its goal was to activate the “Abraham” Agreements on normalization between Arab states and Israel in an effort by Israel to forge an alliance to counter Iran.

This is the third meeting of the Negev Forum Steering Committee; the first two were held virtually in June 2022 in Bahrain and October 2022.

The Negev region lies in the historical south of Palestine and is surrounded by Jordan’s Arba Valley on the east and Egypt’s Sinai on the south-west. The majority of the area’s residents are Palestinian Bedouin tribes who were occupied by Israel in 1948, also known as the Palestinian Year of the Nakba.

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