A year after Abraham Accords, UAE & Israel shake hands for bolstering economic ties

Roughly a year after Israel and UAE established diplomatic ties, the nations now aim to bolster cooperation in economic as well as tourism sectors. Recently, Emirati Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi met with the Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov in Dubai. Notably, Razvozov is in the city to attend the opening of the Israeli Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

During the meet, both the leaders deliberated on the prospects of increasing direct flights. In addendum, they also spoke about enhancing business cooperation across priority sectors, accelerating non-oil trade exchanges and diversifying bilateral investments. Speaking to media later, Al Falasi also said that the Dubai Expo presents a “valuable opportunity” for Israeli entrepreneurs.

Significant boost in Tourism: Razvozov 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic considerably restricting international travel, tourist exchanges between UAE and Israel witnessed significant momentum, Razvozov told reporters. Highlighting that over 250,000 Israeli tourists landed in the UAE since the agreement was inked, the zionist leader said that the sector was a mainstay for economic development between the two nations. "We expect cooperation in this field to further grow over the coming period," he asserted.

"The UAE tourist and hotel establishments have secured high occupancy rates over the past period, overtaking 10 of the world's most-visited tourist destinations. An achievement that would not have been made but for the efforts made at the country level to stamp out the challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic," Al Falasi added. 

Earlier this week, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel’s Yair Lapid and said that they have agreed to establish two new working groups. While one of the groups will focus on religious coexistence, the other would deal with water and energy issues. The meeting among the UAE, the US and Isreal’s top diplomats covered the progress achieved one year after the signing of the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement between the UAE and Israel.

Image: Emirates News Agency