On September 15, 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates wrote history by signing the Abraham Accords and formalizing the birth of fruitful diplomatic relations.
Two years after the White House ceremony and there has been a multitude of bilateral agreements in all areas: trade, tourism, technology and innovation.
"I arrived here ten and a half months ago as Israel's first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and since then we have had two visits from our president, two visits from our prime minister, about 20 visits from our ministers and we have signed 20 agreements, including the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)," Amir Hayek in an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
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Two years after the Abraham Accords, the enthusiasm is still just as great and the two countries have continued to deepen their ties.
It is with this in mind that an official delegation from Abu Dhabi arrived in Tel Aviv in early September to present its Emirati delegates to the main Israeli companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).
For two days, the delegation took part in a joint business forum co-organized by TASE and the Abu Dhabi Global Market in collaboration with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Israel.
The event was successful and resulted in several memorandums of understanding aimed at strengthening the economic cooperation between the nations and enabling various business opportunities related to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, blockchain and the protection of data and privacy.
Hayek recalled that trade between Israel and the UAE exploded by 117 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, and estimated that the UAE will be among Israel's top ten trading partners in the next few years.
Israel-Emirati trade booms two years after the #AbrahamAccords
'If we build trust, and we are building trust... we will reach a success in every aspect,' Israel's Ambassador to the UAE @HayekAmir tells @laura_i24 pic.twitter.com/1ZEBJsTBRB
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 14, 2022
"1.4 billion dollars of trade in 7 months, the figures have doubled. Israel has 121 trading partners and the Emirates are in 11th place. I think that in two to three years, the Emirates will be among the ten most important trading partners of the State of Israel. All this proves that there is mutual trust and that the companies wish to work together. These are incredible results," the ambassador said during an interview granted to i24NEWS.
This forecast is confirmed by Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem and co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council.
"Over the past two years, the United Arab Emirates has become one of Israel's fastest growing trading partners, not least thanks to the free trade agreement which opens the door to opportunities in key sectors, such as energy, financial services, distribution, construction and hospitality," she said.
Tourism is also exploding, as evidenced by the figures: no less than 450,000 Israeli tourists have decided to put their suitcases in the Emirates since the signing of the agreements.
"After two difficult years, we are seeing fewer Emirati citizens arriving in Israel, but I guess tourism will grow. This is something we need to move on," Hayek said.
For Hayek, the relationship between Israel and the Emirates is like "a marathon."
"It's like a two-year-old baby who can speak three languages and run a marathon. A marathon, not a 200-meter sprint. We came to build strong relationships, show results and we have to be very efficient," he said.
The Abraham Accords represent for him a "spirit of cooperation in a new Middle East, which offers a better future for the children of the region."
"We anticipate that in the third year of this relationship, we will see trade more than double from $1.2 billion to $3 billion, excluding services. We are also very excited about the domino effect it had on other Arab countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, which are now benefiting from increased trade with Israel. We are blessed with a new era in our region that is creating stability and opportunities," Hassan-Nahoum said.
The agreement negotiated on September 15, 2020 between the Emirates and Israel, brokered by the United States, has for two years paved the way for the establishment or resumption of diplomatic relations between Israel and three other Arab countries: Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Hayek argues that the more successful the relationship between the Emirates and Israel, the more countries will want to join these agreements "to create a new atmosphere, a new economy, and a new Middle East."
"We have for two years steered the defense and security dialogue towards innovation. Over the past two years, innovation and technology have played a central role in trade and Start-Up Nation Central is proud to be at the heart of bringing the Israeli tech ecosystem closer together with its counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, as well as with its international partners,' said Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit that promotes the Israeli ecosystem for innovation in the global market.
"As we approach the third year of this relationship, we believe that trade and investment between Israel and the countries that signed the Abraham Accord will double in 2023, and that innovation and technology will continue to play an important role, as more Israeli companies will open offices in the signatory countries of the agreement and train local technological talents, thus meeting the challenge of human capital while contributing to the development of the innovation ecosystem in these countries," he concluded.
This article was first published by i24NEWS. |
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