UAE's first ambassador to Israel sworn in by Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially appointed its first ambassador to Israel after diplomatic ties were established between the Arab and Jewish countries following the signing of the famous Abraham Accords under the auspices of Donald Trump's administration.
The new historic ambassador is Mohammed Mahmoud al-Khaja, who handed over diplomatic credentials to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai's vice-president, prime minister and ruler, at the Qasr al-Watan Palace. Also present at the official ceremony was Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
In the presence of two of the UAE's top leaders, Mohammed Mahmoud al-Khaja was sworn in and pledged to uphold the UAE Constitution and laws, to work sincerely to prioritise national interests and to keep state secrets while performing his diplomatic duties.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid wished Al-Khaja success in his mission, and called on him to work to consolidate relations between the UAE and Israel in a way that promotes a culture of “peace, coexistence and tolerance,” between the peoples of the two nations and the peoples of the region, as noted by the official Emirati news agency WAM.
This ceremony to recognise the new Emirati ambassador to Israel comes after the signing five months ago of the historic Abraham Accords promoted by the previous US administration of Donald Trump with the aim of several Arab countries establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, as was the case of the Emirates, Bahrain, and, later, Sudan. These pacts have served to advance the pacification of the Middle East in the face of threats from more belligerent and interventionist countries such as Turkey or the Islamic Republic of Iran, as pointed out by various analysts. Before leaving office, former US president Donald Trump also worked to establish relations between Israel and Morocco after the agreement by which the US recognised the inclusion of Western Sahara within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty as a solution to resolve the Saharawi conflict, far from the postulates of the Polisario Front's independence referendum, which almost no one supports in the international arena.
At the same ceremony with the new Emirati ambassador, the credentials of the diplomatic representatives of the Dominican Republic and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates were also received. In this way, Julio Simon Castaños Zouain, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic, and Afzaal Mahmood Mirza, Ambassador of Pakistan, conveyed the greetings of their leaders to UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan before Mohammed bin Rashid, and expressed their happiness at representing their nations in the UAE.
The UAE Vice President wished the new ambassadors success and assured them of the enthusiasm of the UAE Government's leadership and support to provide them with all the tools for success in their diplomatic missions.
The event was attended by a number of ministers and senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Presidential Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs underwent major changes with the departure of former Minister of State Anwar Gargash, who, after an excellent diplomatic career for the UAE, became personal foreign advisor to President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Gargash, who has dealt with important regional and global issues in the Middle East (including challenges posed by the expansionism of Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran), handed over to Shakhbut bin Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan and Khalifa Shaheen al-Marar as the two new Emirati ministers of state attached to the Gulf state's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.