UAE foreign minister meets Israeli president

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Foreign Minister the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met on Thursday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog as part of his official visit to Israel.

The top Emirati diplomat delivered a message from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Israeli leader, according to Herzog’s office.

"The world respects the Abraham accords. There is a new Middle East now,” Herzog said.

Bin Zayed, for his part, termed the Emirati-Israeli relations as “historic.”

The Emirati foreign minister also visited the Yad Vashem Museum, which commemorates the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Bin Zayed arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday on an official visit that coincides with the 2nd anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel.

In September 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored deal to normalize their relations. Since then, the two countries have exchanged official visits by senior officials and signed dozens of bilateral agreements in various fields, including investment, banking services, and tourism.

Three other Arab states – Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – joined the UAE in the controversial move that came to be known as the Abraham Accords.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report