JERUSALEM -- Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Monday that the conference of foreign ministers between Israel and four Arab countries will become a permanent annual regional forum in future.
Lapid made the announcement after hosting the first conference with the foreign ministers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt that kicked off Sunday in Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev Desert in southern Israel and the final home of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father and first prime minister. (Israel-Arab Conference-FMs)
- - - -
ISTANBUL -- The Russian delegation has arrived in Turkey's largest city Istanbul on Monday for a fresh round of peace talks with Ukraine, the CNN Turk broadcaster reported.
The plane carrying the Russian representatives landed at the Ataturk Airport, which is exclusively used for diplomatic missions, it said. (Turkey-Russia-Ukraine-Peace Talks)
- - - -
RAMALLAH -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah for regional issues, Palestinian official news agency (WAFA) reported.
During their meeting, the king of Jordan reiterated that Jordan is fully standing by the side of the Palestinian people and supports their legitimate rights and their just cause on all levels. (Jordan-Palestinian-Visit)
- - - -
CAIRO -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Monday with French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Cairo to discuss means of furthering trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, said the Egyptian presidency.
The two sides also looked into the prospects of maximizing French investments in various Egyptian national projects, especially those of transportation, electric car manufacturing, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, communications and digital services, according to a presidency statement. (Egypt-France-Britain-Economic Cooperation)