“Morocco has a unique relationship with the Palestinians, of course HM King Mohammed VI is the chairman of the Al-Quds Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and we appreciate Morocco’s role in providing aid and assistance to the Palestinian people and supporting the two-state solution,” said the U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, Ned Price.
Commenting the resumption of relations between Morocco and Israel, Price said that the Kingdom is a “leader”, stressing that ties between the Kingdom and Israel created “real benefits” for the people of both countries as well as “new opportunities for peace and prosperity”.
“We will continue to engage with Israel and other countries in the region and even beyond to attempt to broaden this circle of opportunity of normalization, and we will look for other opportunities to enhance cooperation between these countries and between Israel and its neighbors,” he pointed out at a press conference in Washington.
On the Negev forum, the spokesperson of the Department of State recalled that the forum’s members have established working groups focused on six key areas: Regional security, clean energy, food and water security, health, tourism and education and coexistence.
These working groups “seek to advance coordinative initiatives between the founding members of the forum to encourage what this is all about: regional integration, cooperation and development for the benefit of the people of the region, including of course initiatives that could strengthen the Palestinian economy and improve the quality of life for the Palestinian people,” Price pointed out.
The Negev forum process is about building bridges and creating opportunities, he said, while underlining the importance of working to achieve a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.