Netanyahu habla con el rey marroquí Mohamed VI y le invita a visitar Israel
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, today invited the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, to visit Israel in the near future, in the first direct conversation between the two following their resumption of relations.
In a "warm and friendly" phone call, both "welcomed the resumption of relations" between their countries and the signing this week of a joint declaration with the United States formalising their diplomatic ties, the office of the Israeli head of government reported in a statement.
They also discussed the mechanisms for implementing their normalisation agreement which, as one of the first steps, will involve opening an Israeli liaison office in the Maghreb country in around two weeks' time.
Netanyahu stated that in his country "there is great enthusiasm" for rapprochement, and Mohammed VI stressed the close relationship between the Moroccan Jewish community and Israel-about one million of its inhabitants have origins in the latter.
The conversation between the two took place a few days after an Israeli delegation led by the national security adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, paid a historic visit to Rabat, where it met the monarch to deepen its ties.
He was accompanied by a US delegation led by Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to the outgoing president, Donald Trump.
At their meeting the three countries issued a joint declaration which led to the re-establishment of relations between Israel and Morocco after 20 years of official disruption.
They also signed agreements on visa exemption for diplomats, civil aviation, cooperation in water management and investment promotion and customs assistance.
A fortnight ago Trump announced the normalisation of relations between Morocco and Israel and, in return, in another break in the international consensus, recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
This is the fourth Arab country to formalise ties with the Jewish state in four months, after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan-with the latter a final pact has yet to be signed.
The Trump Administration is the main promoter of these agreements, and seeks to get more Arab and Muslim countries to follow in its footsteps in the coming weeks, before the Democrat Joe Biden takes over the US presidency on 20 January.
