The envoys met at the Moroccan Embassy a month after the two countries re-established ties under the US brokered Abraham Accords after a two-decade hiatus.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFFirst-ever El Al flight to Morocco about to take off from TLV(photo credit: SIVAN FARAJ)
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Eilon Shahar, met her Moroccan counterpart, Omar Zniber, on Tuesday to help cement the burgeoning ties between the two countries.“The cultural bonds between our people are strong and I am looking forward to strengthening our collaboration in the multilateral arena,” Shahar said in a tweet about the conversation.The envoys met at the Moroccan Embassy a month after the two countries reestablished ties under the US brokered Abraham Accords after a two-decade hiatus.Shahar has already held separate face-to-face meetings with her counterparts in Geneva from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.Morocco and Israel had enjoyed low level diplomatic ties from 1994-2000, that were severed by Rabat when the second intifada broke out. The two countries have revived those ties with a view to establishing full diplomatic relations in the future.Zniber spoke very fondly of the Jewish community in Morocco and has explained that he has good relations with the Jewish community in Geneva, Shahar said.This meeting, like the others with the UAE and Bahrain, Shahar told The Jerusalem Post, reflected the desire on all sides to cement the Accords. She said she did not believe that they will be affected by events in Washington as US President Donald Trump ends his four-year term in the White House.“The change has been made. We and our partners have embraced it openly,” Shahar said. The speed with which the countries are signing agreements tells of the enthusiasm by all countries involved to develop these relationships, she added.They concentrated on bilateral ties and spoke of how the accords can help stabilize the Middle East.Some of the agreements could take years to finalize, Shahar said.
“When we look at bilateral ties, you look at how to cement it, is working together on thematic issues,” Shahar said. So, she and Zniber discussed issues they could have in common in Geneva, such as health.This week, a team of Israelis is visiting Morocco and Moroccans are in Tel Aviv working on opening liaison offices, she added. ‘It’s moving very fast,’ Shahar said.
