UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah to sign official peace treaty with Israel in Washington on September 15

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will lead a high-ranking delegation on a visit to Washington this month to sign a historic peace treaty with Israel.

On September 15, at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, UAE and Israeli delegations will head to sign the peace accord in Washington.

The Israeli delegation will be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tweeted, confirming his participation at the event.

אני גאה לצאת בשבוע הבא לוושינגטון, בהזמנת הנשיא טראמפ, ולהשתתף בטקס ההיסטורי בבית הלבן לכינון הסכם השלום בין ישראל לאיחוד האמירויות!

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) September 8, 2020

“I am proud to go to Washington next week, at the invitation of President Trump, and to attend the historic White House ceremony to establish the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” he said.

On August 13, Israel and UAE agreed to the Abraham Accord. Accordingly, Israel will cease further annexation of Palestinian territories in exchange for the UAE establishing ties and recognising the state of Israel.

Read: UAE, Israel agree on historic deal to establish diplomatic ties

Since then, several Israeli and UAE entities have entered into agreements across diverse areas including technology, healthcare, and finance.

On August 31, the first commercial flight from Israel landed in the UAE, with an Israeli and American delegation including Jared Kushner, Senior Adviser to US President Donald Trump, onboard.

During the official visit to the UAE, the three countries issued a joint statement pledging bilateral technical cooperation in seven key areas including investment, finance, health, the civilian space programme, civil aviation, foreign policy and diplomatic affairs, and tourism and culture.

Read also: UAE, Israel, US issue joint statement reaffirming peace plans; will cooperate in 7 key areas

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has also officially abolished a previous law, the Federal Law No. 15 of 1972, boycotting Israel, further encouraging individuals and companies in the UAE to enter into agreements with their Israeli counterparts.

Read more: UAE President Sheikh Khalifa scraps Israel boycott law

Israel’s Finance Ministry sees potential for annual bilateral trade starting at $2bn with the UAE and building up to $6.5bn, according to deputy chief economist Lev Drucker.

A delegation from Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, led by chief executive officer Dov Kotler, travelled to the UAE on September 8, to meet with local banking officials.

Read: Israel’s two biggest banks sending delegations to UAE

The normalisation process announced last month is the first between Israel and a Gulf Arab state.

Another major Israeli bank, Bank Leumi le-Israel, will send a team of 20 senior executives led by chairman Samer Haj Yehia and CEO Hanan Friedman to the UAE on September 14.