WASHINGTON, 18 September 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the Biden administration will build on the “successful efforts” of its Donald Trump-led predecessor to encourage more countries to normalise ties with Israel.

Speaking at a virtual event celebrating the first anniversary of the normalisation agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which later included Morocco, Sudan and Kosovo, Blinken outlined steps Washington will take to strengthen the accord.

The plan did not include pushing to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Blinken said “first, we’ll help foster Israel’s growing ties with Bahrain, with Morocco, with the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Sudan, which has also signed the Abraham Accords, and Kosovo, which established ties with Israel at the beginning of the year.”

He added that the US administration will “deepen Israel’s long-standing relationships” with Egypt and Jordan, which normalised ties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Blinken cited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent visit to Cairo – the first official trip by an Israeli head of state to Egypt in 10 years.

Blinken said “third, we will encourage more countries to follow the lead of the Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.”