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.

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In particular, the creation of tangible initiatives in the areas of food and water security, education, health, tourism, renewable energy, coexistence, and security will be the emphasis of this two-day preparation conference.

According to data acquired by MAP, the Arab nations present at the conference stress the need to maintain the core goals of the process, which are to secure regional security, peace, and prosperity, while the outcomes must benefit the peoples of the area, particularly the Palestinian people.

These countries also emphasized the necessity of creating tangible initiatives and presenting information that might be the topic of debate at the ministerial level, pointing out that without such information, the Negev II meeting would be pointless and identical to the first meeting.

According to the delegations of the countries that participated in the opening of this meeting, the preparatory meeting aims to identify projects that benefit the participating countries in particular and the region in general, following the goals set in the Negev I meeting. They emphasized the need to integrate the Palestinians in this process in a way that serves the security, peace, and development in the Middle East region.

In contrast, the delegates from the Arab nations present at the preliminary conference voiced their worry about unilateral actions that impede the regular progress of this process in light of the recent events in Al Quds.

The two working groups on education and teaching and the security of food and water are co-chaired by Israel and Morocco, respectively, while other nations are in charge of the sectors of tourism, health, renewable energy, security, and the environment, among others.

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