President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke on Thursday and pledged to further bolster ties between the Gulf kingdom and the Jewish state.
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According to the Prime Minister's Office, The UAE leader "wished the prime minister success and emphasized the importance of maintaining strong ties between their nations.
"PM Lapid extended his best wishes to President bin Zayed on the occasion of the Eid Al-Adha holiday which begins this Saturday, and wished him a Eid al-Adha Mubarak."
Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke with the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed, who congratulated him on taking office. The President wished the PM success and emphasized the importance of maintaining strong ties between their nations. 🇮🇱🇦🇪
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 7, 2022
"The two leaders discussed the importance of deepening the warm ties between their countries and expressed satisfaction with the growing tourism and economic ties.
"Prime Minister Lapid thanked the President for the conversation and noted that the personal trust between the leaders, together with the commitment of the State of Israel to the Abraham Accords and the continuation of the Negev Forum and its development into a permanent framework, are a strong basis for excellent relations and increasing prosperity and cooperation between the countries; relations that are a model and symbol to others.
"The two leaders also discussed expanding the circle of peace to include additional countries in the region," the statement concluded.
The two leaders are scheduled to speak again next week as part of US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, expected to take place between July 13-15, during which a video conference will take place between the three and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which aims to promote cooperation between all four countries.
Biden's regional tour will also include a visit to Saudi Arabia, during which it is speculated that Jerusalem and Riyadh will announce an upgrade of ties.
The Gulf power and the Jewish state do not maintain official diplomatic ties but according to foreign media reports, maintain steady back channels of communication over their coming regional foe – Iran.
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