Israel and Morocco agreed Wednesday to elevate their diplomatic missions to full embassies and exchange ambassadors at a U.S.-backed summit in New York, reaffirming the “spirit of the Abraham Accords” as Washington pushes to deepen and expand the landmark normalization agreements six years after President Donald Trump first brokered them.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita reached the agreement during a trilateral meeting hosted by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, with the three countries declaring themselves “undaunted by regional challenges” as they committed to building on the U.S.-brokered normalization agreement signed in December 2020.
“The Abraham Accords proved that all barriers can be broken, and showed that a new path can be chosen for our region, a path of peace and partnership for the benefit of all our countries and for all peoples,” Israel’s foreign minister said, crediting Trump with transforming the region’s diplomatic landscape.
“President Trump’s vision changed the Middle East,” Sa’ar added.
The joint declaration confirmed that Israel and Morocco will elevate their existing liaison offices to full embassies and exchange ambassadors, while moving to promptly reinstate direct flights between the countries — including service by both Israeli and Moroccan airlines — before the end of the year.
The countries also agreed to complete agreements protecting bilateral investments and preventing double taxation by the end of 2026, advance reciprocal high-level visits in the coming months, and deepen cooperation in areas ranging from trade and investment to technology, security, energy, and agriculture.
The United States, Israel, and Morocco cast the moves as part of a broader effort to deepen regional integration built on the Abraham Accords, saying expanded ties would “advance the cause of peace and unlock new opportunities for the entire region.”
Israel and Morocco also specifically credited the United States and Trump, describing the president in their joint statement as “a visionary leader uniquely capable of bringing peace where no one else thought it was possible.”
The diplomatic upgrade came one day after Waltz hosted officials from Abraham Accords countries at his New York residence to mark six years since Trump presided over the original agreements at the White House.
The Abraham Accords established normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, with Morocco subsequently restoring relations with Israel and Sudan joining the broader normalization process.
Trump has continued pushing to expand the agreements during his second term, telling Breitbart News at the G7 in June that he expected additional Arab countries to join after the existing relationships endured throughout the conflict with Iran.
“Do you notice that even during that period of conflict, nobody dropped out? Nobody said, ‘Oh, gee, I’m going to drop out.’ Nobody,” Trump said.
“I think they’re all going to come in now into the Abraham Accords,” he added, arguing that Iran had previously made countries in the region reluctant to move toward normalization.
Kazakhstan has since formally acceded to the Abraham Accords and joined representatives from Israel, Morocco, the UAE, and Bahrain at Waltz’s sixth-anniversary gathering Tuesday.
Wednesday’s declaration also renewed a key element of the original 2020 agreement, with the United States and Israel reaffirming recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and their support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the basis for resolving the longstanding dispute.
The declaration additionally highlighted Morocco’s historic relationship with the Jewish people, with the United States and Israel recognizing the Moroccan monarchy’s “special ties” with Moroccan Jewish communities in Morocco, Israel, the United States and around the world.
“The friendship between the Moroccan people and the Jewish people has deep roots and a glorious history,” Sa’ar said.
The declaration signed Wednesday, he said, outlines “practical ways to upgrade ties between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples.”
“And we will work to implement it,” he concluded.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.