Israel's Lapid opens Embassy in UAE
Israel’s new Foreign Minister inaugurated the country’s Embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and offered an olive branch to other former adversaries, saying: “We're here to stay.” During his two-day visit, the first to the West Asian nation by an Israeli Cabinet Minister since the countries established ties last year, Yair Lapid was also due to inaugurate a Consulate in Dubai and sign a bilateral deal on economic cooperation. The trip is an opportunity for the two-week-old Israeli government of Naftali Bennett, a nationalist who heads an improbable cross-partisan coalition, to make diplomatic inroads.
"The Middle East is our home,” Mr. Lapid said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Abu Dhabi high-rise office serving as a temporary Embassy. “We’re here to stay. We call on all the countries of the region to recognize that,” he said, according to a transcript brought together by shared worries about Iran and hopes for commercial boons, the UAE and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel last year under so-called “Abraham Accords” crafted by the then U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. Sudan and Morocco have since also cultivated Israel ties. The UAE also opened its Embassy in Israel recently.
Source-THE HINDU
Pic Credit-GOOGLE