Morocco's king invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an official visit, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday, two days after Israel recognized the kingdom's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.
In a personal letter, which was confirmed by Morocco's national news agency, MAP, King Mohammed VI thanked Israel for its position and said Netanyahu's visit "would open new opportunities for strengthening bilateral relations".
Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita agreed on Wednesday to set a date "in the near future" for what would be Netanyahu's first visit to the kingdom, the prime minister's statement said, Reuters reported.
Morocco considers Western Sahara its own territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants an independent state there.
Earlier on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson told reporters that the US recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara remains unchanged.
Twenty-eight other countries - mostly African and Arab - have opened consulates in the Western Saharan cities of Dakhla or Laayoune, in what Morocco sees as tangible support for its Western Saharan rule.
According to MAP, the king also welcomed Israel's decision to mull opening a consulate in Western Sahara in his letter.
