Israel is negotiating with Mauritania, Indonesia, Somalia and Niger in order to expand the 2020 Abraham Accords normalization agreements, according to Israeli media reports on Tuesday.

The negotiations are reportedly being mediated by senior officials in the United States’ State Department, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein. During the previous Israeli government, Hochstein mediated the Israel-Lebanon maritime deal.

The Abraham Accords could already draw new signatories in the coming months, as talks are currently underway, according to a report by Israel Hayom.

Currently, Israel’s most advanced negotiations are reportedly with Mauritania. The northwestern African country, an Islamic Republic, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1999 but cut ties in 2008 due to the war between Israel and Gaza.

Indonesia – home to the world’s largest Muslim population – and Israel currently have unofficial connections in trade technology and the tourism sector, despite not having any official ties.

Israel and Somalia, another Muslim African country, have never had diplomatic ties. However, according to reports, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is interested in establishing relations.

Niger and Israel have historically not had any diplomatic ties, but such a relationship is important to the Jewish state as Niger is a global supplier of uranium, a chief component of nuclear bombs. Israel is seeking to prevent the sale of the material to countries that are hostile to it.

Israel is interested in establishing diplomatic ties with as many countries as possible, especially because Israel has few natural allies globally and wants to reduce the number of countries that continue to vote against it in international forums, such as the United Nations.

Source:  All Israel News