Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett on Sunday met with the United Arab Emirates’ top diplomat as he became the first Israeli premier to officially visit Abu Dhabi, The Times of Israel reports.
Bennett was greeted at the airport by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and an honor guard after landing.
“I appreciate your warm hospitality. This is a wonderful reception. I am very excited to be here, on the first official visit by an Israeli leader here,” Bennett told bin Zayed, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“We expect to strengthen the relationship between the countries,” he added.
The Emirati foreign minister is the brother of the UAE’s de-facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom Bennett will meet Monday morning.
Bennett’s flight came several hours after his office announced the visit to the UAE. He flew with a scaled-down delegation that did not include journalists because of concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Before departing, the prime minister said the aim of his trip was to further expand ties between Israel and the UAE.
“The ties are excellent and diverse, and we must continue to nurture and strengthen them, and build a warm peace between the two nations,” he said in a video statement from the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport.
His visit also comes as Israel and its Gulf allies fret about Iran’s nuclear program. Talks between Iran and world powers stalled again last week.
Israel and the UAE forged ties in the United States-brokered Abraham Accords last year, bringing over a decade of covert contacts into the open, and have seen their relationship flourish since then.
Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco later also joined the Accords, and other countries were also rumored to be in talks, though none has come to fruition so far.
