Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to meet the Gulf state’s de facto ruler, according to his spokesperson. This is the first visit to the UAE by an Israeli prime minister.
Bennett will meet Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan during the high-level visit on Monday, according to Bennett’s office.
According to the statement, the two leaders would talk about “deepening the ties between Israel and the UAE, particularly on economic and regional problems.”
“This is the first official visit by an Israeli prime minister to the UAE,” it added.
The United Arab Emirates did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Abraham Accords, a US-brokered deal, formalised relations between the two countries last year. The pact has resulted in a slew of agreements spanning tourism, industry, and cutting-edge technology.
The summit takes place against the backdrop of stalled nuclear negotiations between the world’s major powers and Iran.
A shared concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions in the area underpins UAE-Israel relations. Israel claims it is hell-bent on preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, while Tehran claims its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
In recent weeks, Israel’s senior diplomats have travelled to Europe, the United States, and the Middle East to meet with friends to press for a tougher stance on Iran.
In 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear deal, imposing harsher sanctions on Iran.
The goal of the talks in Vienna today is to bring the US back into the accord and put Iran back into full compliance with its obligations.
Bennett has called for a halt to the Vienna talks, accusing Iran of “nuclear blackmail” and claiming that any cash from sanctions relief will be used to bolster a military arsenal capable of harming Israel.
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s National Security Advisor, paid a visit to Iran earlier this month.
The visit was the first of its type since the two countries’ relations were downgraded in 2016.
Bennett’s journey to the UAE follows Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s historic visit to the UAE in June to mark the opening of the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Since the two nations formally established relations, Lapid’s meeting with the UAE’s foreign minister was the highest-level visit by an Israeli official to the Gulf Arab state.
Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco have all taken steps to strengthen their ties with Israel. Palestinians, who wanted their aspirations for statehood free of Israeli occupation handled first, were outraged by the regional reconciliation.
