Israel’s new Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, becoming the first Israeli top diplomat to visit the Gulf state.
Lapid was received in the capital Abu Dhabi by Minister of State Ahmed al-Sayegh, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
“Making history: I am proud to represent the State of Israel in the first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, thanks for the warm welcome,” Lapid wrote in Arabic on Twitter.
Israel signed agreements establishing diplomatic ties with the UAE and Bahrain in September following mediation by the United States.
The two became the first Gulf countries to establish official ties with Israel, crossing a decades-old line drawn by most Arab states who had refused relations with Israel until the conflict with the Palestinians had been resolved.
During his two-day visit, Lapid will meet with his Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He will also inaugurate the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and a general consulate in Dubai.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to head to the United Arab Emirates in March, but the visit was postponed at the last minute following disagreement with neighbouring Jordan about the flight path.
The two countries have already signed a set of economic cooperation accords on different areas of investment, science and innovation, aviation and tourism.
They also announced establishing reciprocal embassies and started direct flights.
