Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the UAE next Tuesday and meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, a senior diplomat has confirmed.
It will be the Israeli leader’s first trip to Abu Dhabi since a normalization agreement was signed by the two countries.
Israel's Netanyahu plans quick UAE visit next week https://t.co/jnjag3G4jb
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 3, 2021
The trip was scheduled to last three days, but COVID-19 restrictions have meant that Netanyahu’s visit to Abu Dhabi will be limited to just a few hours.
The UAE Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al-Otaiba, confirmed the trip during an online panel discussion on Monday.
“The prime minister is going to be visiting us very soon… Unfortunately, his trip had gotten cut a lot shorter because of the corona situation but he should be coming to see us next week,” he said.
Previous trips to the UAE and Bahraini capitals have been hampered by the spread of the coronavirus.
Report: #UAE Cabinet Approves Establishment of #Embassy in #TelAviv https://t.co/gF7HjBe3hm via @PalestineChron https://t.co/o9NEtzracI pic.twitter.com/9rmhgLXoRB
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 28, 2021
Since the normalization agreements, a number of low-level officials and business leaders have traveled between the two countries, but next Tuesday’s visit will be the highest level meeting to date.
The issue of Iran is expected to be high on the agenda, with both countries perceiving it to be a threat to regional security.
In addition to the UAE and Bahrain, Israel also signed normalization agreements with Morocco and Sudan.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
