About the event

On Wednesday, September 13th the N7 Initiative, a partnership between the Atlantic Council and Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, hosted a public event marking the third anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and its regional neighbors.

This event examined developments in regional integration and cooperation in the fields of security, trade, and people-to-people engagement. Participants explored future opportunities for advancing relations between the N7 countries and more broadly across the region. It featured the co-chairs of the House Abraham Accords Caucus, members of the Biden administration, as well as regional officials from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

The event took place in a hybrid format on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. ET at the Capitol Visitor Center. Participants joined in-person or virtually via YouTube.

After the event’s conclusion, a reception was hosted with the generous support of the Wilson Center. Brief remarks were made by members of the United States Congress.

The N7 Initiative, a partnership between the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, seeks to broaden and deepen regional integration between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries. It works with governments to produce actionable recommendations to deliver tangible benefits to the people of the region.

Read the recap

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2023

A Saudi-Israeli deal is not happening just yet. But there are other ways to expand the Abraham Accords.

By Katherine Walla

Officials convening at the US Capitol discussed the economic and cultural projects that can expand the Accords’ impact and spread prosperity in the Middle East.

Israel Middle East

Agenda

12:30 – 12:45 p.m. ET

Welcome remarks

Oren Eisner
President
Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation and Family Office

William F. Wechsler
Senior Director
N7 Initiative

The Honorable Bradley Schneider
United States Representative (D-IL); Co-Chair, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

The Honorable Dean Phillips
United States Representative (D-MN); Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia
United States Congress

The Honorable Joe Wilson
United States Representative (R-SC); Chairman, House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia
United States Congress

12:45 – 1:30 p.m. ET

Session 1: Regional security cooperation

The Honorable Kathy Manning
United States Representative (D-NC); Vice Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee
United States Congress

The Honorable Joe Wilson
United States Representative (R-SC); Chairman, House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia
United States Congress

H.E. Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States

Army Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff
Senior Director for the Middle East
National Security Council

Moderator

David Makovsky
Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and Director, Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

1:25 – 2:10 p.m. ET

Session 2: People-to-people interaction and cultural engagement

The Honorable David Trone
United States Representative (D-MD); Co-Chair, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

The Honorable Ann Wagner
United States Representative (R-MO); Co-Chair, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

Aaron Keyak
Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism
United States Department of State 

Geoff Ainsman
Director of Press and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
United States Department of State

Moderator

Merissa Khurma
Program Director, Middle East Programs
Wilson Center

2:30 – 3:15 p.m. ET

Session 3: Trade and economic integration

The Honorable Don Bacon
United States Representative (R-NE); Member, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba
Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States

Chris Backemeyer
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Assistance Coordination and Regional and Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
United States Department of State 

Moderator

Shira Efron
Senior Director of Policy Research
Israel Policy Forum

3:20 – 4:05 p.m. ET

Session 4: What comes next

The Honorable Bradley Schneider
United States Representative (D-IL); Co-Chair, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

H.E. Daniel B. Shapiro
Senior Advisor, Regional Integration
United States Department of State

H.E. Michael Herzog
Ambassador of Israel to the United States

Moderator

Ed Husain
Director
N7 Initiative

4:10 – 4:20 p.m. ET

Closing Remarks

The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers
United States Representative (R-WA); Co-Chair, House Abraham Accords Caucus
United States Congress

4:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET

Reception

Hosted with the support of the

Wilson Center

Photos

The N7 Initiative hosted a timely event to commemorate the third anniversary of the Abraham Accords

N7 Director, Ed Husain (left), moderating a panel with Michael Herzog, the Ambassador of Israel to the United States (center), and US Representative Bradley Schneider (right).

US Representative Dean Phillips delivering opening remarks at the beginning of the event

US Representative Kathy Manning speaking about security issues during an N7 panel

US Representative Ann Wagner addressing the audience during the event

Merissa Khurma speaking during the cultural engagement panel

N7 Senior Director, Will Wechsler speaking at the Abraham Accords anniversary event

US Representative Joe Wilson addressing the audience before the first panel

The Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog (left), sitting with US Representative Bradley Schneider (right) during the final panel of the event

Lt. General Terry Wolff participating in the regional security panel at the event

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N7 Initiative

The N7 Initiative, a partnership between the Atlantic Council and Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, seeks to broaden and deepen normalization between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries. It works with governments to produce actionable recommendations to deliver tangible benefits to their peoples.

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