Herzog to travel to the Emirates, Israel's first presidential visit to the country
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 30-31 January, Israel's first-ever presidential visit to the Gulf country.
The President will travel with his wife, First Lady Michal Herzog, to Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the invitation of UAE Crown Prince and de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in a historic visit that marks the culmination of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2020 under the framework of the Abrahamic Accords.
In addition to meeting Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Herzog's agenda also includes meetings with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and Vice President, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who is also the Ruler of Dubai.
In Dubai, Herzog will inaugurate the International Israel Day at Dubai Expo 2020, in addition to meeting with representatives of the Emirati Jewish community, the President's Office said.
"We are privileged to make history with the first visit by an Israeli president to the UAE. This important visit comes as the Israeli and Emirati nations are busy laying the groundwork for a new shared future," Herzog said today in a statement announcing his visit.
Since the two countries established diplomatic ties, the relationship has advanced rapidly with the mutual opening of embassies and especially economically, with the opening of direct air routes, tourism agreements and bilateral trade exceeding $1 billion in 2021.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Benet met in Abu Dhabi with Prince Bin Zayed last November in another historic visit, during which they sealed normalisation and announced the early signing of a free trade agreement.
"I believe our bold new partnership will transform the Middle East and inspire the entire region. We are a peace-loving nation and together we will extend the historic circle of peace of the Abraham Accords and create a better, more tolerant and safer world for our children," Herzog said of those US-sponsored pacts, which were later joined by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.