Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Monday that the conference of foreign ministers between Israel and four Arab countries will become a permanent annual regional forum in future.
Lapid made the announcement after hosting the first conference with the foreign ministers from the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt that kicked off Sunday in Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev Desert in southern Israel and the final home of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father and first prime minister.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the two-day conference, which mainly discussed the emerging agreement on renewing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and ways to build a regional partnership.
Lapid hailed the conference for “making history,” as it marked the first time that Israel hosted a meeting with Arab foreign ministers. He also invited the Palestinians to join the forum in future.
The top Israeli diplomat said the countries are forming a new partnership based on religious tolerance and cooperation in the fields of economy, technology, security and intelligence.
Israel and Gulf Arab countries share concerns over the possible revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, under which the US eased sanctions in exchange for Iran’s curbing its nuclear program.
But the previous US administration under president Donald Trump unilaterally quit the pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
However, the current US government under President Joe Biden wants to restore the deal through the talks held in the Austrian capital Vienna by Iran and other major signatory parties, in which the US has been indirectly involved.
Former Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid (L) speaks with former Minister of Education Shay Piron during a vote on a bill to dissolve the Knesset (parliament) at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on Dec. 8, 2014. (Xinhua/JINI)
