Negev Summit Officials Meet in Bahrain to Cement Cooperation

Senior officials from Israel, the United States, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates met on Monday in Manama, Bahrain, for the first meeting of the Negev Forum’s Steering Committee. The meeting is a follow-up to the historic two-day Negev Summit held in March in Sde Boker in Israel’s Negev and is meant to “promote cooperation in a manner that will lead to tangible achievements for the region and its people,” according to a statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry. During Monday’s meeting, “the six founding countries decided to work decisively to bring security, prosperity, and stability to the Middle East,” according to the statement. Six working groups were set up during the summit – regional security, food, and water security, energy, health, education and tolerance, and tourism, each headed by one of the summit participants; the operation of the groups was part of the discussion on Monday. “The meeting is of particular importance in light of US President Biden’s expected visit to Israel and the Middle East and the American commitment to expanding the circle of peace,” the statement also said. President Biden will visit Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia next month.