Morocco will attend Bahrain’s conference on the US peace plan, a White House official says

Morocco is one of the countries that will reportedly attend an international conference that will be held in Bahrain in late June to unveil the economic portion of the United States’ Israeli Palestinian peace plan.

A White House senior official told Reuters, Tuesday, that «Egypt, Morocco and Jordan have informed the US that they will attend», the conference to be hosted by Manama.

On the same day, Israeli free-to-air television channel «Channel 13» said on its official Twitter account that the three countries, including Morocco, will take part in the long-awaited meeting, quoting a White House senior official.

בכיר בבית הלבן לחדשות 13: "מצרים, מרוקו וירדן הודיעו לנו כי ישתתפו בוועידת בחריין" @BarakRavid

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) 11 juin 2019

Contacted Tuesday by Yabiladi, a diplomatic source from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation couldn’t confirm reports on Rabat’s participation in Bahrain’s conference. The same source insisted that Morocco’s position on the conference was voiced by Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita during the weekend.

The Deal of the Century and Kushner's visit to Morocco

Indeed, Bourita said Saturday, June 8, during a press briefing held while his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian was visiting Morocco, that Donlad Trump’s senior advisor visited Rabat to «discuss questions related to North Africa» and did not «focus on the Middle East peace plan». The Minister said that «Morocco is not aware of the details of this initiative».

During his trip to Rabat, Kushner and King Mohammed VI held a meeting that was described as «very positive and productive» by an administration official.

Indeed, King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, offered an Iftar in honor of Kushner, Trump’s special envoy for international negotiations Jason Greenblatt and special Iran envoy Brian Hook.  

The three officials visited the Kingdom as part of a regional tour, initiated to back the US plan, also known as the «Deal of the Century».

A White House official told Associated Press in May that Kushner’s trip to Morocco is «part of [the Trump’s administration’s] efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians».

For the record, Kushner flew to Jordan and then Israel after visiting Morocco. In Jordan, his meeting with King Abdullah was also seen as «positive and productive». However, King Abdullah «pointedly declared that any plan must provide for a Palestinian state», New York Times concluded.