US-Israeli delegation lands in Abu Dhabi on historic flight
- 31 Aug 2020
A US-Israeli delegation, led by Jared Kushner, Senior Adviser to US President Donald Trump, arrived at the presidential airport in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The delegation left early on morning on board the first Israeli commercial plane — on which the word "peace" printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above a cockpit window — to land in the UAE.
"While this is a historic flight, we hope that it will start an even more historic journey in the Middle East and beyond," Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key architect of his Middle East policy, said before boarding.
The decision made by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday to abolish the Israel Boycott Law was "historic" and "showed real leadership," a top Israeli official told WAM on Monday.
"The important decision to abolish the boycott on Israel and Israeli companies is an important step towards normalisation. The UAE President [Sheikh] Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, took a historic decision that shows real leadership," Lior Haiat, Spokesperson for Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Following the abolition of the Israel Boycott Law, individuals and companies in the UAE may enter into agreements with bodies or individuals residing in Israel or belonging to it by their nationality, in terms of commercial, financial operations, or any other dealings of any nature.
Haiat said US-Israeli delegation "will create the basis of the future of the normalisation accords."
"We hope that it would be a quick process [the normalisation] and within a few weeks or months we would be able to see the fruits of this process," he added.
The top Israeli official, who worked as his country’s consul-general in Miami, US, between 2016-2019, said that the delegation will discuss with the Emirati officials diplomatic relations, tourism, science and space, trade and investments, as well as cultural and health research.
"The idea is to build the infrastructure of the relationship between the countries and between the peoples," he continued.
"The UAE and Israel are two of the most innovative countries in the region. There is a lot of potential for cooperation in science and research, and also in trade and tourism."
WAM