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Rabat – Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid has said that deepening bilateral relations between Morocco and Israel is among his top priorities.
In an interview with Moroccan newspaper L’Economiste, Lapid said that furthering bilateral relations is in the two countries’ “common interest.”
For the Israeli FM, deepening relations in all fields is also in the interest of the entire region, especially since “naturally, there is a strong cultural and emotional bond between our two countries, since there are today more than a million of Israelis of Moroccan origin.”
Ties between Rabat and Tel Aviv predate and go far beyond the recent “normalization” agreement, Lapid said.
He noted that Israel and Morocco are investing in deepening their cooperation in tourism, culture, political dialogue, as well as expertise sharing through programs of research cooperation between Moroccan and Israeli universities.
“We have a thriving economic relationship and we expect it to grow significantly in the coming months,” he said.
Lapid emphasized the potential of Morocco-Israel collaboration, which he said covers a “wide range of areas.”
He argued that Tel Aviv and Rabat are constantly identifying new areas of cooperation, including water, agriculture, energy, and the automotive and aerospace industries, saying: “Today, our two nations face many similar challenges, and cooperation in innovation can help us meet these challenges which will lead to many opportunities for increased investment and trade.”
Lapid also recalled his recent visit to Morocco in August, as well as the visit of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
He said Gantz’s visit constituted a “major step” forward for Morocco-Israel ties in the field of defense and security.
“These visits, to which will soon be added that of the Israeli Minister of Economy, prove the seriousness with which we consider our partnership with Morocco and the Moroccan people, as well as the mutual interest in developing our relations in all sectors,” he said.
Lapid’s comments come days after he represented Israel during the celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Joint Declaration that formalized the new dynamic in US-Morocco-Israel relations on December 22 of last year.
Following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco, the two countries signed the Declaration alongside the US to lay the groundwork for their US-brokered multisectorial cooperation.
Moroccan Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and US State Secretary Antony Blikne also attended the virtual event commemorating the first anniversary of the signing of the joint declaration.
“Over the past year, we have seen and appreciated the significant and concrete progress of our bilateral relations,” Lapid said during the event. “Bilateral ties have been strengthened in the area of business and culture, and continuous political dialogue has taken place on important strategic and regional issues.”
