Middle East Desk
Report
TEL AVIV: Israel’s newly appointed foreign minister Yair Lapid will head to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week for the first-ever visit by a top Israeli diplomat to the Gulf emirate, which comes after the normalisation of ties between the two countries last year.
The Israeli foreign ministry said on Monday that Lapid will visit the UAE from June 29 to 30, and will inaugurate an Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai. The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan established diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by former US President Donald Trump. The Palestinians have condemned the normalisations, saying they were grave betrayals by the Arab states and undermined efforts towards Palestinian self-determination.
Since the deal was signed last September, the UAE, an oil-rich country with considerable regional influence, has signed a plethora of business deals with Israel. The two states had already agreed to waive visa requirements for each other’s citizens and signed a number of bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, and telecommunications.
