Israeli foreign minister to make first visit to UAE
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel´s new foreign minister will head to the United Arab Emirates next week for the first-ever visit by a top Israeli diplomat to the Gulf country, the ministry said Monday.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid´s visit comes after the two countries normalized relations last year in an agreement brokered by the Trump administration, the first of four similar deals with Arab states that had long shunned Israel over its conflict with the Palestinians.
Both Israel's new government and the Biden administration have said they hope to reach similar accords with other Arab states.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Lapid will visit the UAE June 29-30, and will inaugurate an Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.
Lapid was the driving force behind a new Israeli government sworn in just over a week ago that ended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's record 12-year rule. Netanyahu had held up the agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as among his biggest achievements.
Israelis have flocked to the UAE since the agreement was reached to enjoy futuristic Dubai. The UAE is a major travel hub, and the agreement has made it much easier for Israelis to travel further afield.
Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrives for the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett opened his first Cabinet meeting on Sunday since swearing in his new coalition government with a condemnation of the newly elected Iranian president, whom he called "the hangman of Tehran." (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP)
