Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held a trilateral diplomatic summit today (Wednesday) in New York with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, centered on a series of steps to upgrade relations between Israel and Morocco. Among other measures, the sides committed to working toward upgrading their existing diplomatic missions to embassies, appointing ambassadors, expanding direct flights and advancing reciprocal high-level visits—following a lengthy period without the kind of public visits by senior Israeli officials to the kingdom seen before the war.
4+During the trilateral summit, the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to advancing a series of measures aimed at deepening Israel-Morocco relations. One of the most significant steps agreed upon is an upgrade in diplomatic relations through elevating the existing missions to embassies and appointing ambassadors.
Israel and Morocco also agreed to finalize agreements on investment protection and the prevention of double taxation by the end of 2026. The move is intended to facilitate mutual investment and expand economic and business ties between the two countries.
4+At the same time, the sides agreed to expand direct flights between Israel and Morocco to include flights operated by Moroccan airlines. According to the agreements, the move is expected to take effect within the coming weeks. Another component involves the resumption of direct diplomatic meetings: the sides agreed to hold reciprocal high-level visits in the coming months. Later today, Sa’ar is expected to meet Bourita for a one-on-one bilateral meeting.
Foreign Minister Sa’ar said: “The friendship between the Moroccan people and the Jewish people has deep roots and a glorious history. The declaration we signed today details practical ways to upgrade ties between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples, and we will work diligently to implement it.”
4+The agreements take on added significance in light of the trajectory of relations between the two countries in recent years. Following the renewal of diplomatic relations under the trilateral agreement with the United States in December 2020, ties gained significant momentum, including cooperation in defense, economics, transportation and tourism, as well as a series of diplomatic visits.
As recently as 2023, Israeli ministers and senior officials were still visiting Morocco. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana traveled to Rabat in June of that year for a historic official visit, during which he met with senior Moroccan officials and signed a memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation. Interior Minister Moshe Arbel also visited the kingdom that month and met with his Moroccan counterpart.
4+Since the outbreak of the war following the Oct. 7 massacre, however, the public face of the relationship has changed, and the high-level diplomatic visits that previously characterized relations have not continued on the same scale. Against that backdrop, the new commitment to reciprocal senior-level visits in the coming months could signal an effort to restore the public dimension of the relationship as well.
The New York summit was held one day after an event hosted by Waltz at his residence marking the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, attended by representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Israel and the United States.
4+Israel thanked the United States for its role in facilitating the summit and its efforts to strengthen ties with Morocco. The test now will be implementing the lengthy list of measures agreed upon by the sides—chief among them upgrading the diplomatic missions to embassies, appointing ambassadors and renewing high-level diplomatic visits between the two countries.