RABAT, Morocco — Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived Aug. 11 in Rabat for a two-day visit. It is the first official visit by an Israeli foreign minister since 2003 and the highest-level Israeli official trip since the signing of the Abraham Accords last year to reestablish bilateral ties. At the Rabat airport, Lapid was greeted by Morocco’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohcine Jazouli and Foreign Ministry Director-General Fouad Yazur. Lapid later met extensively with Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, and also held a meeting with Morocco’s Tourism Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui.
The prime minister of Morocco, Saadeddine El Othmani, of the Islamic Justice and Development Party, refused to meet with Lapid. This party did not support the renewal of relations with Israel, a move that King Mohammed VI advanced with the support of only part of his government.
Despite this refusal, Israelis see Lapid’s visit to Morocco as historic. The Israeli delegation is enjoying a warm welcome; those among them with Moroccan origins are especially moved. But the visit is not just symbolic diplomatically, it is part of the great upswing in economic and commercial ties between the two nations. Perhaps it doesn’t match the enormous extent of commerce with the United Arab Emirates, but the intent in both Israel and Morocco now, since the new Israeli government was formed, is to quickly advance infrastructure for commerce, as attested by several agreements that have already been signed and several on the way. According to an Israeli diplomatic source who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, if there are no obstacles or surprises, Morocco is expected to announce it will raise the level of its diplomatic representation in Israel to an embassy, most likely to mark a year to the signing of the normalization agreement.
On Aug. 11, Lapid and Bourita signed in Rabat three cooperation agreements, including a diplomatic agreement between the foreign ministries and agreements in the fields of culture, sports, aviation and tourism.
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