El Banco Mundial coordina la cooperación entre Israel y varios países árabes
Israel's Minister of Agriculture, Oded Forer, visited the United States of America and made a stop at the World Bank headquarters in Washington. There, he met with the Bank's vice president and various professional bodies representing the agricultural sector, which are working on a cooperation agreement between Israel and several Arab nations such as Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The bank is trying to explore the possibility of establishing a regional innovation centre for desert and aquaculture in Israel. To this end, the bank is seeking to involve several North African and Middle Eastern countries in the project and to provide funding. The Israeli government issued a statement on the matter: "It was agreed to promote the establishment of an international centre for the creation and dissemination of knowledge on desert agriculture. The centre will be established in the Negev in southern Israel, and will be promoted in cooperation with the World Bank and other countries and international agencies".
With this, Israel continues to expand its good relations with Arab countries. A few days ago it was announced that a number of Moroccan businessmen will travel to Israel to make economic deals. This is taking place at one of the worst moments in the two nations' foreign policies, but after the Abraham Accords, relations are normalising. As a result, several delegations from the Alawi country will travel to Israel in December to seek business opportunities and create synergies between the business communities of the two countries.
These good relations also coincide with the opening of a new direct route between Casablanca and Tel Aviv, which will be operated by Royal Air Maroc. The main idea of this project is to operate three flights a week, with the possibility of adding two more in the near future. This connection allows tourists, businessmen and the Moroccan community in Israel to travel at any time and in a faster way.
"Our fraternal relations, our cultural proximity, the complementarities and similarities between our two economies, as well as the transformation our economies have undergone in recent years, mean that there are many opportunities to be seized," said Steve O'Hana, president of the Morocco-Israel Business Council.
Recently, the two nations also signed a landmark agreement in the defence sector. This coincides with the first official visit of an Israeli defence minister to Morocco, which shows the good connection between the two countries after decades of tension. Among the agreements, this cooperation will focus on the fields of intelligence, military training and defence industry collaboration, in addition to contracts for the acquisition of technology necessary for the arms sector. This relationship also becomes a regional strategic alliance, given the position of the two countries.
Another country with which Israel is increasing its relations is the United Arab Emirates. A few weeks ago, educational agreements were signed allowing students to travel between the two countries to exchange information and learn about different cultures. "Only through education, tolerance and peace, we can live together," said Hussain bin Ibrahim al-Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education. In addition, last year, a historic peace agreement was signed between the two territories, in which they pledged to set aside pretensions and start cooperating together for a better future.
Israel is taking the right path and is beginning to improve its relations with the Arab nations. Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, promoted by former President Donald Trump, the US has been seeking to deepen Israel's relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, with which diplomacy with Tel Aviv is currently normalised.
