Arab FMs arrive in Israel for conference with Blinken

Jerusalem, March 28: A two-day conference began between Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his visiting counterparts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt in southern Israel's Negev desert. The two-day conference began on Sunday evening, Xinhua news agency reported.

It marks the first time that Israel hosts a meeting with Arab Foreign Ministers. US State Secretary Antony Blinken will participate in the conference on Monday, according to a statement from Lapid's office. An emerging nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is expected to be on top of the agenda for the conference, according to Israeli state-owned Kan TV.

Seeing Iran as its arch-enemy, Israel has been a vocal opponent of a nuclear deal with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that "Israel's foreign relations are experiencing a good period."

Last week, Bennett attended his first-ever trilateral summit with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.