The State of Israel is set to host an historic summit in Sde Boker that will include Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and four regional foreign ministers.
“The Negev Summit,” which begins Sunday afternoon (March 27) will continue into the next day (March 28), with the impending renewal of the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran topping the agenda, along with issues relating to regional energy.
In addition to Lapid and Blinken, participants are to include Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco Nasser Bourita, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Sameh Shoukry.
The ministers will gather at the Isrotel Kedma Hotel in Sde Boker, where the summit will kick off with dinner, to be followed by political meetings taking place close to the gravesite of the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.
During the summit, which was impossible to imagine taking place until very recently, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safdi will be meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in the PA capital city of Ramallah. However, according to a report by Israel’s Channel N12, al-Safdi may join the rest of the foreign ministers at The Negev Summit before the event is concluded.
