Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli President Isaac Herzog Before Their Meeting

PRESIDENT HERZOG: Welcome, Mr. President - sorry - welcome, Mr. Secretary. We're very happy to have you in Israel. You are both the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor. I think since Henry Kissinger, in Israel, we haven't seen such an incredible job description. Actually, I don't know how you sleep, but I - we are very honored to have you in Israel, also for spiritual experience and for coming here and discussing with us the challenges of the day. And we welcome you wholeheartedly.

I agreed with the Secretary one thing to mention, that today - exactly today - is five years to the signing of the Abraham Accords in the White House lawns. And that was a very important, historic moment in the history of the Middle East, where agreements that were brokered under the auspices of President Donald Trump - as part of his great legacy to bring peace to the Middle East and to the world - were signed at the White House lawn between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

And I must say, Mr. Secretary, that we bless those agreements every day. They've brought enormous change to everybody whose lives in the Middle East. And these allies that signed the agreement, despite all the storms of the Middle East, have kept these agreements going, and it is very important to upgrade and enhance and foster and bring more partners to these agreements. And I want to thank all the partners of the agreements, and of course, most grateful to the United States of America for being there always both in times of war and in times of peace. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And yes, I think it's appropriate we're here on the fifth anniversary of that historic accord, which really - imagine, despite the difficulties the region has confronted over the last few years, how much more difficult it would have been had the Abraham Accords not been in place. And we're obviously incredibly grateful as well, just from the perspective of the United States, to Morocco and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. They're also strong partners of ours on a bilateral basis, not to mention as part of this agreement.

So - and as you said, not only does this agreement with these existing partners need to continue to be strengthened and built upon, but it needs to be expanded. There are other countries that have expressed an interest, and one of the - to being a part of this, and one of the great promises of the era is the ability, under President Trump's second term, to be able to build upon the foundation of the Abraham Accords and expand it to more countries who want to join in something like this. And so it's also part of the - of our focus.

But we are very grateful to our partners and to those who are a part of those Accords now, and grateful to be here today on the fifth anniversary of it to remind us of the progress that was made and the opportunities that lie ahead.

PRESIDENT HERZOG: Thank you very much.

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