The United States, Israel and 4 Arab countries agreed to enhance cooperation and hold annual meetings of foreign ministers, during their participation in the meetings of the Steering Committee of the Negev Summit, which was held in the Bahraini capital, Manama, two weeks before an upcoming visit by US President Joe Biden to the Middle East.

Today, Monday, Bahrain hosted a meeting of senior diplomats from the United States and Israel and officials from the foreign ministries of the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which normalized relations with Tel Aviv in 2020, and from Egypt, with which it made peace in 1979.

The foreign ministers of these countries met for the first time in the occupied territories in March in Kibbutz (Sde Boker) south of Beersheba in the Negev desert. The meeting was also attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

And the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alon Oshbiz, published - in a tweet on Twitter - photos from inside the meeting, with the participation of officials from Israel, the United States, Bahrain, Egypt, the UAE and Morocco.

"We are working together to translate the full potential of the Abraham agreements into reality in our region," he said. "Through the Negev Summit, we are making real and positive change in the areas of energy, health, food, water security, regional security, and much more." Meeting.

Foreign Ministers Meeting: UAE, Morocco, US, Israel, Egypt and Bahrain (in order) in the Negev in March (Reuters)

discussion and agreement

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said - in a written statement - that the member states discussed practical ways in which cooperation can be enhanced in a way that leads to tangible achievements for the region and its peoples.

She added that the meeting of the Steering Committee is further evidence of the importance that the participating countries see in consolidating this framework and regional cooperation that has been strengthened in a variety of civil and security fields that will contribute to the prosperity of the region and its peoples, without geographical or political borders.

Earlier yesterday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the foreign ministers of the forum's member states had agreed to turn this summit into a continuous process in which six working groups would participate in the following areas: food and water security, energy, health, education and tolerance, tourism and regional security.

She added: The meeting aims - today, Monday - to devote work in the groups, as well as being an advanced step ahead of the upcoming US President's visit to the Middle East.

Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia from July 13-16 (Reuters)

Diplomatic activity

The Manama meeting comes within the framework of increased diplomatic activity ahead of Biden's visit to the region, which Washington said was aimed at strengthening regional relations.

Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia from July 13-16, his first trip to the Middle East since taking office.

A US official said that he will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia with the leaders of the Kingdom, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, and the leaders of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will join them.

"We are trying to build a new regional framework (...) and concrete initiatives that will be built on the Negev Forum," Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lambert told reporters.