Historic Visit to the United Arab Emirates: Israeli President Heads to UAE

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has embarked on his first official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as reported by the Times of Israel, citing his office.

“For the first time in history, President Herzog has traveled to the United Arab Emirates this morning on an official visit at the invitation of the UAE's de facto ruler and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” the office's statement said.

He is expected to visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where he will hold official meetings with Nahyan and Dubai's Vice President, Prime Minister, and emir Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Israeli leader's visit to the Arab country has become possible due to the signing of normalization agreements with the UAE and Bahrain in 2020. Prior to this agreement, only Egypt and Jordan had diplomatic relations with the Jewish state from the Arab world.

In September 2020, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain signed a peace agreement in Washington. According to the agreements, these countries recognized Israel in exchange for a halt to the expansion of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In a joint statement, the countries declared that this move is a step forward towards achieving peace in the Middle East. Subsequently, two more Arab countries, Morocco and Sudan, also normalized relations with Israel.