Morocco Strengthens Diplomatic Ties with Israel, Expands Cooperation

"Since the signing of the tripartite normalization agreement between Morocco, Israel and the United States, we have taken concrete actions," said Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, in an interview with the American television channel AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). According to the minister, eight working groups have been set up to address issues of common interest to the two countries in the diplomatic, security, tourism, industrial and agricultural fields.

On the political front, the head of Moroccan diplomacy announces high-level visits to strengthen and develop bilateral cooperation between Morocco and Israel. With the United States, moreover, Morocco shares, according to Minister Bourita, a solid bilateral relationship materialized by a military commission, in addition to a free trade agreement aimed at several issues related to climate change, the promotion of peace, including in the Middle East.

On the Iranian issue, the minister addressed the Iranian threat to peace in the Middle East and the world, calling on the United States to work closely with Morocco as an ally to face this threat. "We are now very vigilant about the threat posed by Iran to our security," he warned.

Regarding the normalization of relations with Israel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs estimated that Morocco has a pioneering role to play in promoting peace in the Middle East and that the Kingdom is ready to contribute to it. He also stressed that Morocco is fully committed to promoting peace between the Palestinian people and the Hebrew state in order to find a solution to the long-standing conflict between them. The minister stressed that King Mohammed VI has always supported the possibility that the special status of the city of Jerusalem be accessible to the three Religions and that it serve as a place where all believers come to pray to God.

For him, since the 15th century, the Jewish community has been part of the Moroccan population and Moroccan identity. He added that "this is why the constitution, the only one in the Arab-Muslim world, stipulates that the Jewish community is an integral part of the Moroccan identity". The Jews had been driven out of Andalusia and Morocco had welcomed them, recalled Nasser Bourita, adding that King Mohammed V had, during his reign, rejected the anti-Semitic laws of the Vichy regime. "King Mohammed V had declared: if you take the Jews, take my children too," the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed, while asserting that King Mohammed VI has also committed himself to preserving this heritage during his reign, through countless efforts.