White House Confirms Peace Plan Rollout to Begin in Bahrain

The long-awaited rollout of the Trump administration’s Mideast peace plan will start off with a meeting in Bahrain to discuss the economic underpinnings of a final status agreement.

A White House statement on Sunday confirmed the Bahrain meeting, termed a “workshop,” on June 25-26 as the first part of the peace plan roll-out, in a joint statement with Manama.

“This workshop is a pivotal opportunity to convene government, civil society, and business leaders to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement,” the statement reads.

“If implemented, this vision has the potential to radically transform lives and put the region on a path toward a brighter future.”

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner said the U.S. will present its “vision on ways to bridge the core political issues very soon.”

“Economic progress can only be achieved with a solid economic vision and if the core political issues are resolved,” he says.

There was no immediate response to the Bahrain announcement from either Israel or the Palestinians.

At Bahrain they will try to avoid politics in a convocation principally of finance ministers, as opposed to foreign ministers.

“We recognize that this needs to go hand in hand with the political plan, but this will be the first chance to roll out details of the economic plan,” said an unnamed official.