Abraham Accord to be signed at White House ceremony

Our Correspondent

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will lead a UAE high-ranking delegation to Washington on September 15 at the invitation of US President Donald Trump to participate in the signing ceremony of the historic UAE-Israeli peace accord. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also be present in Washington D.C. on the occasion, a senior White House official said on September 8.

 

Netanyahu tweeted soon after: “I am proud to leave for Washington next week at the invitation of President Trump and to participate in the historic ceremony at the White House on the establishment of a peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”

 

The UAE-Israel peace deal between the Arab and the Jewish state is known as the Abraham Accord, which was announced at the White House on August 13 reportedly after 18 months of talks. The UAE decided to normalise relations with Israel since the latter agreed to suspend its annexation of the West Bank.

Following the deal, a group of Israeli officials landed in Abu Dhabi two weeks later to discuss cooperation in a variety of fields. This included talks in the field of defence, health, stem cell research, food and water security.

Bankers visit UAE

On September 1, Abdulhamid Saeed Alahmadi, Governor of the UAE Central Bank, and Ronen Peretz, Director-General of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for future cooperation in the banking and financial sector (in picture).

September 8 saw Dov Kotler, CEO of Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s largest banks, lead a delegation of businesspeople on the first Israeli economy-focused visit to the UAE. The businesspeople belonged to fields such as high-tech, financial technology and industry.

The two-day trip is set to include meetings with bankers and businesspeople in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a Hapoalim spokeswoman said.

Kotler termed the visit “the first, ground-breaking step, with great expectations ahead”. He added that the delegation was looking for “new growth engines” in the wake of the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We believe that direct and discreet communication with heads of the banking systems and economic figures can enable direct business,” he added.

Another Israeli business delegation from Bank Leumi, a major commercial bank of Israel, is set to travel to the UAE on September 14.