Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Wednesday in Paris with her Moroccan counterpart, in the first official meeting between the diplomatic chiefs in seven years. Morocco broke off diplomatic relations with Israel after the outbreak of Palestinian uprising in 2000.
"This meeting was of utmost importance because of the important role of Morocco as part of the follow-up group of the Arab League," Livni said following the talks with Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa. The group was established in the wake of the Saudi-drafted Arab initiative, first adopted in 2002 and revived in March.
In Rabat, a Moroccan official earlier said Benaissa would discuss prospects for advancing the Middle East peace process. The "meeting aims to energize the Arab peace initiative and ensure the Jewish state's political and economic commitments to the Palestinian people get carried out," the official told AFP.
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