Israeli and Arab diplomats follow up controversial Negev Summit with meet up in Bahrain

Arab and Israeli officials held joint talks in Bahrain on Monday in the first follow-up meeting since the Negev Summit in March.

Representatives from the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, and US took part in the talks, held in the village of Zallaq in the island state's west.

Bahraini foreign ministry official, Abdallah bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, said the kingdom was "proud" to host the first Negev Forum.

The Negev Summit held in Israel's Negev desert region gained international prominence but was highly controversial in the Arab world due to being another sign of normalisation with Israel.

Arab states attending the forum agreed to form working groups with Israel on counter-terrorism, energy, education, tourism, health, as well as food and water security.

Monday's attendees discussed regional security, reports said, and follow meetings between regional leaders and the planned resumption of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.

It also comes ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region.

The UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco all normalised ties with Israel in 2020 in controversial deals brokered by the former administration of President Donald Trump, while Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.