Israel refuerza su posición en Oriente Medio
Israel begins its round of diplomatic contacts in the Middle East in light of the new Biden Administration. The Jewish country has wasted no time in asserting the Abraham Accords, sponsored by the previous US administration, which allowed Israel to normalise relations with four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sudan, Bahrain and Morocco.
Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen has visited Sudan, becoming the first Israeli minister to visit the Arab country following the recent signing of a normalisation agreement between the two countries. During his visit to Khartoum, Israel signed a memorandum of understanding on security matters with Sudan, no details of which have been made public. Cohen also invited Sudanese leaders to visit Israel.
Eli Cohen led a delegation from his ministry and the National Security Council and held talks with senior Sudanese officials, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim. The signing of the memorandum comes just over two months after Trump announced that Sudan would normalise ties with Israel.
The talks also addressed the repeal of a Sudanese law boycotting Israel, discussed possible bilateral cooperation projects in the fields of "water, agriculture, renewable energy, health and aviation", and both sides pledged to promote economic investment and collaboration between their companies.
The possibility of Israel joining the Red Sea Council, which also includes Egypt and Saudi Arabia, was raised during the meeting, according to the Israeli intelligence ministry.
During its round of contacts, Israel announced the opening of its diplomatic representation in the United Arab Emirates. Eitan Naeh will be chosen to represent this diplomatic delegation.
The Israeli ambassador, during an interview with The Jerusalem Post, showed his enthusiasm for being Israel's first high-level diplomat in the UAE. Naeh explained that he is in Abu Dhabi "with clear instructions to expand ties", as Israel previously only had diplomatic representatives to the UAE-based International Renewable Energy Agency, and not to the country itself. "We have to build long-term relations," he stressed.
The first item on the ambassador's agenda is likely to be preparations for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit, scheduled for 9-10 February. More broadly, Naeh will work to map out areas of cooperation between Israel and the UAE and try to deepen the connections between the countries, establishing contacts and holding talks and meetings with officials and civil society groups.
"The business community in Israel is very thirsty for this connection, and people here are keen to come to us." Naeh noted that Abu Dhabi and Dubai are important trade hubs between East and West, and Israel can use this to its advantage.
The United Arab Emirates has announced the establishment of its embassy in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, although no names or further information has yet been released. In addition, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the process "has been affected by the current movement restrictions in place in Israel to curb the COVID-19 pandemic".
The last of the Arab countries with which Israel normalised relations was Morocco, in a final move on the Trump administration's international chessboard. The announcement came via the former US president's own Twitter account, which reported the normalisation agreement between Israel and Morocco, along with the news that the US recognised the latter's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
A few weeks after the resumption of relations between Tel Aviv and Rabat, Israel reopened its diplomatic mission in Morocco. David Govrin will be the new ambassador representing Israeli interests on Moroccan soil.
20 years after the closure of its liaison office, Tel Aviv is opening a new diplomatic mission. In a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, they welcomed this development: "a day of celebration for the State of Israel". "David Govrin and his team will work to continue bilateral relations in all areas, including everything related to political dialogue, tourism, the economy and cultural ties," the statement said.
Israel and Morocco, since the announcement of the normalisation of their relations, have reached several agreements in various fields. A few days ago, the two countries reportedly agreed to operate direct flights. This is the third aviation agreement recently signed between Israel and Arab countries, following similar pacts with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in recent months.
Moreover, Israel has already announced its expectations, especially in the economic sphere, regarding the new relationship with the Alawi kingdom. Israeli Finance Minister Amir Peretz has already announced his intention to sign a free trade agreement with Morocco.
The Abraham Accords are becoming increasingly evident in the Middle East, strengthening Israel's role and blurring the old paradigms in the region, thus breaking the traditional Arab consensus of not normalising ties with the Jewish country until there is a peace agreement with the Palestinian people.