NEW YORK CITY: Morocco and Israel agreed on Wednesday to upgrade their diplomatic relations to full embassy status, and to restore direct commercial flights between Rabat and Tel Aviv before the end of this year.

The move deepens a three-way alignment, which also includes the US, that is in its sixth year. The commitments came during a meeting in New York between the American ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, and the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar. It took place under a framework established by a Morocco-US-Israel joint declaration signed on Dec. 22, 2020, as part of the Abraham Accords.

A joint statement from the three countries said they had “confirmed their agreement regarding the elevation of the diplomatic missions between Morocco and Israel to full embassies and the exchange of ambassadors,” and pledged to “take the necessary measures for prompt reinstatement of direct flights between Morocco and Israel, including by Israeli and Moroccan airline companies, before the end of the year.”

It added that Israel and Morocco would also move to finalize, also by the end of this year, agreements protecting investments and avoiding double taxation, with the aim of expanding bilateral economic ties.

Washington and Israel reiterated their recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, and described Rabat’s proposal for the territory’s autonomy as “the only basis for a just and lasting solution” to a decades-old territorial dispute, warning that “any other path prolongs the status quo and is unacceptable.” Resolution of the dispute would bring not only “peace to the region, but prosperity and greater integration for all of Africa,” they added.

The three governments credited President Donald Trump for his instrumental role in the rapprochement, with Morocco and Israel jointly describing him as “a visionary leader uniquely capable of bringing peace where no one else thought it was possible.”

They also said they would pursue closer cooperation in the fields of technology, security and innovation, and advance plans for high-level visits between the countries “in the coming months.”

Their statement also highlighted the historic ties between the Moroccan monarchy and Moroccan Jewish communities in Israel, the US and Morocco as a foundation for the relationship.

Wednesday’s meeting took place the day after the sixth anniversary of the signing of original Abraham Accords on Sept. 15, 2020, under which the UAE and Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Morocco followed suit in December of that year in a deal brokered by Washington that paired normalization of relations with Israel with US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.