A delegation of senior Emirati officials yesterday visited Israel for the first time since the two countries agreed to normalize relations, where they signed a slew of bilateral agreements meant to solidify their new ties.
US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin accompanied Emirati Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid al-Tayer and other senior officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US on the Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted al-Tayer and Mnuchin at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport before signing of a series of bilateral agreements between Israel and the UAE, including civil aviation, visa exemption and science and innovation deals.
“Today we are making history. We are making history in a way that will stand for generations,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony stage in a tent on the tarmac. “We will remember this day, a glorious day of peace.”
The ceremony was closed to the media and the Emirati delegation was to hold all meetings at the airport, apparently over COVID-19 concerns.
Al-Tayer said that the Emirates sought to establish legal frameworks with Israel “to achieve prosperity for both our economies and our people.”
Israel and the UAE in August announced that they had agreed to normalize ties under a US-brokered deal, and signed accords on the White House lawn in September.
Bahrain also signed an agreement to normalize relations with Israel.
The UAE and Bahrain are the third and fourth Arab states to establish ties with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively.
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