Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spent Tuesday preparing for his official two-day visit to Morocco, set for Wednesday.
Lapid is the first Israeli foreign minister to visit the country since a visit by then-Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in 2003 after the 2000 closure of Israel’s diplomatic mission in Rabat in response to the Second Intifada.
The Israeli minister is slated to inaugurate the Israeli Liaison Office in Rabat and meet with his Moroccan counterpart, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. Lapid is also scheduled to visit Casablanca, where he will meet with the local Jewish community according to a statement from his office.
Israel and Morocco established formal diplomatic ties in recent months as part of the Abraham Accords peace agreement brokered in September 2020 by then-US President Donald Trump.
“I am going to Morocco to represent Israel and dedicate the Israeli mission in Rabat, the capital,” Lapid said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This historic visit is a continuation of the long-standing friendship and deep roots and traditions held by the Jewish community in Morocco, and the large community of Israelis with origins in Morocco,” he said.
הנסיעה ההיסטורית היא המשך של ידידות ארוכת שנים וחיבור עמוק של שורשים ומסורת של קהילה יהודית במרוקו וקהילה גדולה של ישראלים עם שורשים במרוקו. זו עת לפעילות מדינית כלכלית ואנחנו נמשיך לפעול להסכמים שיביאו למדינות שלנו חדשנות והזדמנויות. ????
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid? (@yairlapid)
“This historic trip is a continuation of a long-standing friendship and a deep connection of roots and tradition of the Jewish community in Morocco and the large community of Israelis with roots in Morocco. This is a moment for national economic activity and we will continue to work towards agreements that will bring to our countries innovation and opportunities,” he wrote in the Hebrew-language tweet.
Lapid also posted a message in Arabic on Twitter addressed to the people of Morocco about the historic event.
نتوجه إلى المغرب غدا في زيارة تاريخية. سندشن مكتب التمثيل الاسرائيلي في الرباط وسنزور الدار البيضاء ونستعيد السلام بين الدولتين والشعبين. أشكر جلالة الملك محمد السادس على جرأته ورؤيته. سنعمل مع فريقه على خلق تعاون اقتصادي وسياحي وثقافي يعبر عن العلاقة التاريخية العميقة بين ?? و?? pic.twitter.com/G6zF13PE4c
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid? (@yairlapid)
“Tomorrow we go to Morocco for an historic visit. We will inaugurate the Israeli representative office in Rabat, we will visit Casablanca and restore peace between the two states and the two peoples,” the Arabic-language tweet reads.
“I thank His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his boldness and vision. We will work with his team to create economic, tourism and cultural cooperation that expresses the deep historical relationship between Morocco and Israel.”
Lapid will be accompanied by Moroccan-born Social Services and Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz (who visited Morocco in early July), Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Ram Ben Barak and senior Health Ministry official Inbar Zucker.
Morocco’s foreign minister, invited by Lapid last month to visit the Jewish State, is expected to arrive in Israel to open his nation’s missions sometime after Lapid’s return from Morocco.
TPS contributed to this report.