JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a historic meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Monday morning with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates in the UAE. It is the first time since the Abraham Accords were signed in August 2020 that a reigning Israeli prime minister has flown to the UAE and met with the leadership of the Emirates.
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Bennett was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan — the crown prince’s brother — and an honor guard after landing in the UAE Sunday night.
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Earlier Bennett gave an interview to the official state news agency of the UAE, WAM stating that last year’s Abraham Accords normalizing Israel’s ties with the UAE and several other Arab states established a “new, deep and solid structure for diplomatic, economic and cultural relations” in the Middle East.
“Every citizen in the two countries sees daily the fruits of the Abraham Accords. I expect and can see that the relations between us will continue to develop and flourish, we are natural partners.
“The relations between the two countries have strengthened in all fields, and I am very satisfied with that, as many cooperation agreements were concluded in the fields of trade, research and development, and cybersecurity, health, education, aviation and more, and I look forward to the continued development and consolidation of relations,” Bennett said.
“Our cooperation provides unprecedented economic opportunities not only for us, but for more countries, which is another element for enhancing stability and prosperity in this region,” he added.
“The message that I wish to deliver to the UAE leaders and Emirati citizens is that mutual partnership and friendship are natural. We are neighbors and cousins. We are the grandchildren of Prophet Abraham,” Bennett added, concluding that the warming of ties over the past year “is the best evidence that developing bilateral relations is a precious treasure for us and the entire region.”
The backdrop for the trip is Israel’s increasing concern about the UAE’s maintaining ties with Iran, which is continuing its progress towards nuclear weapons which could destabilize the entire region. After talks with Iran on the issue stalled last week, Israel is trying to build a coalition which would support military action against Iran to prevent it from attaining nuclear capability.