Israeli, US, UAE, Moroccan, Bahraini, and Egyptian foreign ministers met for the first time ever on Monday in Israel.
Egyptian FM spokesperson Ahmed Hafez tweeted on Sunday that Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Israel and met with Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid prior to the Negev Summit. On Sunday night, the six foreign ministers gathered for a dinner with their staff.
The recent peace agreements signed with the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain, according to the Arabic Twitter account of Israel’s foreign ministry, herald “a better tomorrow for the peoples of the region.”
A video of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s welcoming remarks to the summit’s participants was posted on the account.
According to him, there are those in the Middle East who promote violence and backwardness, as well as those who promote cooperation, prosperity, and harmony.
Israelis are increasingly aware that they have always been at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and cooperation with their Arab neighbors.
According to Bennett, the summit’s holding was “a very festive and influential day,” and Israel was cultivating old ties while also building new ones.
“Even as we talk about peace, there are those who continue to stir up conflict. When the Houthis, acting as a proxy for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, launched an attack on Saudi Arabia,” he continued, “We got another reminder of that.”
Five days earlier, Egyptian, Israeli, and UAE leaders met in Sharm El-Sheikh, and two days later, Egypt’s President, Jordan’s King, the UAE Crown Prince, and Iraq’s Prime Minister met in Aqaba.
On Monday morning, Lapid met with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Lapid, Iran is not a problem for Israel because “the entire world cannot afford Iran to become a nuclear power. We’ll do everything we can to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”
