The leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan met in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi on November 18 to discuss regional developments and seek a comprehensive peace in the light of the Palestinian issue.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Jordanian king HM King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussain and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain held a tripartite summit in the presence of HH Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain.

The leaders underlined the importance of continuous coordination and consultation between the three countries regarding issues that are of common Arab interest. They discussed the latest regional and international developments, including the Palestinian issue and the need to achieve a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution. which guarantees the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The leaders asserted deep-rooted and strategic fraternal relations between the three countries and discussed ways of bolstering them to achieve common interests. They also reviewed ways of boosting cooperation and integration in various vital sectors, mainly the health and food security fields. They discussed joint efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and handle its economic, health and social repercussions.

Bahrain’s Shura Council Chairman lauded the tripartite summit which reiterated the leaders’ unwavering stance towards the Palestinian issue and the establishment of an independence Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with Al-Quds as its capital.

Relations with Israel

The UAE, Bahrain and Jordan have established diplomatic relations with Israel, the former two in recent months.

EL AL Israel Airlines, the national airline of Israel, and UAE national carrier Etihad Airways are set to explore deeper cooperation in aviation following the signing of a virtual Memorandum of Understanding. Etihad Airways plans to commence daily services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv from March 28, 2021.

Bahrain and Israel have agreed to start operating commercial flights and initiate procedures to open embassies, based on the MoU concluded between the two countries for cooperation in the field of air services. The steps were announced during the trilateral session of talks held in Tel Aviv, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and US State Secretary Mike Pompeo.

The post UAE, Bahrain and Jordan hold tripartite talks appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Speaking at an event hosted by the US Atlantic Council think tank, Gargash said that “several Arab countries” are on the path of normalizing ties with Israel. The region needs a strategic breakthrough, he said.

“We are committed… as part of the international consensus on the two-state solution, and any embassy will be in Tel Aviv. So that is quite clear,” the minister said during the virtual session with the Atlantic Council Front Page. “The whole idea of suspending annexation, giving space and opportunity for negotiating the two-state solution, you know… it is evident where our embassy will be.”

The US is one of the few countries that has recognised Jerusalem as the Israel’s capital and moved its embassy there in 2017. President Trump at a campaign rally on August 17 said he did it for the evangelicals in the US.

Regarding the UAE’s role in finalising a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, Dr. Gargash said: “We don’t negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.” He added the final shape of the emergence of the peace deal will be decided by Palestinians and Israelis. “But we all need to urge the Palestinians to engage and negotiate.”

“The UAE saw an opportunity because we’ve always been urged by the Palestinians to help in stopping annexation. By linking (the agreement) to the suspension of annexation, we came out with a good deal.

“This is going to be a warm peace because, unlike Jordan or Egypt, we have not fought a war with Israel,” Gargash said. Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994.

Calling the UAE a dynamic Arab country that wants to “break a lot of barriers”, Dr. Gargash said that would not be possible with an “exclusivist view of the world through an Arab prism”.

The post UAE’s embassy in Israel to be set up in Tel Aviv appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Kuwait has expressed its readiness to help Lebanon in re-operating the Beirut port that was devastated by an explosion on August 4.

Sheikh Yousef Abdullah Sabah Al Nasser Al Sabah, who is the Director General of Kuwait’s Ports Authority and also President of the Arab Sea Ports Federation, said on that the Ports Authority is ready to provide all necessary assistance for the re-operation of the country’s ports. It also offered help with food security.

During a meeting with Lebanese Charge d’Affairs to Kuwait Basil Oweidat, Sheikh Al Sabah discussed the reconstruction and re-operation of the port as well as the development of the Lebanese ports in Tripoli, Sidon and Tyre. He said his country will provide all economic and strategic studies in the field of port development to Lebanon.

The United Arab Emirates has continued to dispatch aid to Lebanon to help with emergency relief efforts on the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

On August 12, Dubai’s International Humanitarian City airlifted aid material worth US$1.4 million on an Emirates SkyCargo plane. The aid included almost 25 metric tonnes of medical supplies and personal protective equipment, including surgical masks, goggles, gowns, coveralls, N95 respirators, stretchers and thermometers, which had been prepositioned within International Humanitarian City by the World Health Organisation.

On August 13, the fourth UAE aid plane arrived in Lebanon equipped with around 100 tons of medicines, food, and nutritional supplements for children, in addition to other aid supplies.

The move follows the directives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and Honorary President of the Emirates Red Crescent, overseen by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of ERC. Sheikha Fatima had already donated AED10 million in the aftermath of the explosion as part of the ERC’s relief programmes in Lebanon.

The plane also carried an ERC delegation which will be fulfilling various humanitarian duties like delivering aid, assessing the situation on the ground, and identifying further needs.

H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, called on Arab countries to support the Lebanese people pointing out that Lebanon was and is still part of the Arab nation.

Less than 24 hours after The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), a Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity, announced a global campaign to provide emergency relief for the blast victims, a 90-minute live fundraising event hosted on Sharjah TV’s popular Direct Line (Al Khat Al Mubasher) programme on August 12 successfully raised AED 30.74 million with dozens of charitable individuals and organisations calling in to make generous contributions. They donated amounts ranging from AED 5,000 to AED 6 million during the programme.

An estimated 70 tonnes of basic food aid was airlifted on August 11 by Ajman’s International Humanitarian and Charity Organisation upon the directives of H.H. Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman.

Saudi Arabia has sent as many as four plane of aid so far, operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief). The fourth despatch included 90 tons of medicines, burn treatment supplies, intravenous fluids, masks, sanitizers, and surgical sutures, Saudi Press Agency said.

King Abdullah II of Jordan on August 12 instructed that a military field hospital be sent to Lebanon as a rescue unit. He also highlighted Jordan’s readiness to provide any support needed.

As per the royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Sultanate of Oman continues to operate relief flights to Lebanon to help the authorities deal with the aftermath of the explosion. The relief flights, operated by the Royal Air Force of Oman, carries various medical supplies and essential humanitarian items onboard.

The post Arab nations rally in support of Lebanon appeared first on The Gulf Indians.