The Jerusalem Post Middle East
By Omri Nahmias
An administration official told the Post that the meetings, aimed to build momentum after the Bahrain workshop, were “extremely productive.”
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor, arrived in Morocco Thursday and met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) of the United Arab Emirates, an administration official told The Jerusalem Post.
In addition, he met with Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs. Kushner was joined by special envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, special representative for Iran Brian Hook and deputy assistant to the president Avi Berkowitz. While it was initially expected that the group would meet MBZ in the UAE, the meeting ultimately took place in Morocco.
According to the official, the meetings were “extremely productive,” and came as a follow-up to Bahrain’s “Peace and Prosperity” workshop. It is not immediately clear when the peace team will also meet with a Moroccan official.
Last week, an administration official told the Post that the visit is intended to finalize the economic component of the peace plan and discuss possible resources for funding the administration’s vision.
“We are trying to keep the momentum of the Bahrain workshop,” he added.
The four US envoys also discussed where the funds should be based, and support locating them in Bahrain to show that countries in the region stand behind the plan, the official said.
In recent weeks, the US has received feedback from several Middle East countries on the draft of the plan that was presented at the workshop. Now, they hope to finalize it.
The meetings in Morocco end a busy week, in which the peace team met with six different leaders in five countries. On Tuesday, the team arrived in the region and met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, the team met in Jordan with King Abdullah, followed by a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and US Ambassador David Friedman attended the meeting, as well.
On Thursday afternoon, they also met with President Al-Sisi of Egypt, before leaving for Morocco.
An administration official said earlier this week that the Middle East team will report back to the president, the vice president, the secretary of state and the national security advisor upon returning “to discuss the many potential next steps to expand upon the success of the Bahrain workshop.”
