Nine months ago, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel signed a historic agreement to normalize relations. Israeli Foreign Minister Mr. Yair Lapid is the first Israeli minister to make an official visit to the Gulf state. It is like a milestone for his country and the Arab world. It is significant also because it will be the first official meeting between the two countries since Israel-Gaza conflict.
During his two-day trip, Mr. Lapid will meet his Emirati counterpart and open Israeli embassy and consulate in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The deal with Israel reflects the UAE’s long-term ambition to become a major geopolitical player on the world stage. They have established their self as a major economic center, now UAE pledges to enhance their security in the region.
Israel and the UAE had different goals when they decided last year to normalize relations. From Abu Dhabi’s point of view, security is the focus of its decisions. But for Israel’s economic cooperation with the UAE and acceptance by Arab states are the main drivers.
The economic partnership has grown since the agreement has signed between two countries. They signed business deals in many sectors including healthcare, artificial intelligence, defense and travel.
Shortly after the agreement, former US President Donald Trump approved the sale of 50 modern F-35 fighter jets to the UAE. This is a great opportunity for the UAE to not only strengthen their military capabilities but also gives them a strategic advantage in the region.
Emirates’ investment in Israel has managed by a government agency. The total value of the UAE’s investment in Israel between September 2020 and March 2021 is $80 million.
UAE also express concerns over Gaza conflict with Israeli Foreign Minister
The eleven-day conflict is the first test of the newly built relationship. UAE leadership has cited the normalization agreement as an opportunity to halt Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. However, a political analyst based in Dubai believes Mr. Lapid’s historic visit shows that both countries survived the storm.
The United Arab Emirates is going two ways. First is the path to normalization and the second is they continue to support the Palestinian right to own state.
According to the United Nations, at least 256 people died in Gaza and 13 in Israel during hostilities. Read More…
UAE condemned the possible expulsion of Palestinians from Israel from homes contested by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. However, during hostilities, the UAE has done little to implement diplomatic mechanisms to pressure the Jewish state to limit the scale of its attacks on Gaza.
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