Moroccan Chairman of the Senate Enaam Mayara will arrive on Thursday for an official visit at the invitation of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the speaker's office said on Sunday. Mayara will be the first high-ranking official from Morocco and one of the few from Muslim Arab countries, to visit the Knesset and be received by an honor guard.
HISTORIC STATE VISIT
(ILTV)
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The importance of the visit lies also in the fact that it is reciprocal and comes after Ohana visited Morocco and its parliament earlier this year and also because it is the first meeting of high-ranking officials since Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
"The visit represents the new era in Israeli-Moroccan relations," Ohana said. "In the past, we could only dream of an official from the Moroccan government visiting Israel. Today this is a reality full of hope that can attest to the possibilities of extending the Abraham Accords to others in the Middle East," he said adding he hoped the warmth shared by the people of both countries would be expressed in the ties between their parliaments.
Mayara also serves as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and some of its members will accompany him on the visit. The organization that has special standing in the UN was founded in 2005 and promotes regional security and economic cooperation among its members as well as on human rights and migration.