Rabat/Tel Aviv, (Samajweekly) Since agreeing to the full normalisation of diplomatic relations earlier this month, Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first official phone call.
During the call on Friday, King Mohammed VI welcomed the reactivation of cooperation mechanisms between the two countries within the framework of peaceful and friendly diplomatic relations, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the Moroccan Royal Cabinet as saying.
The King also reiterated the constant and unchanged position of the North African country on the Palestinian issue, the statement added.
On his part, Netanyahu during the “warm and friendly” conversation extended an invitation to the King to visit Israel and the two agreed to continue contacts in order to advance the normalisation agreement in the weeks ahead, The Times of Israel quoted the Prime Minister’s Office in Tel Aviv as saying in a separate statement.
“The leaders congratulated each other over the renewal of ties between the countries, the signing of the joint statement with the US, and the agreements between the two countries.
“In addition, the processes and mechanisms to implement the agreements were determined,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, and Air Transport Nadia Fettah Alaoui announced that direct flights between the two countries will begin in two to three months.
A joint Israeli-American delegation visited Morocco on Tuesday to sign several bilateral agreements and a trilateral declaration to solidify the normalisation agreement.
The group’s flight to Rabat was the first direct commercial flight from Israel to Morocco.
Morocco is the fourth Arab state that has recognised Israel in recent months after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan.
Morocco had severed relations with Israel in 2000 after the second Palestinian uprising.
