DUBAI (UAE) – History was made on Tuesday when the first-ever official United Arab Emirates delegation set off to Israel. This comes after both countries normalised their diplomatic ties last month under a US-brokered treaty.
Emirati government officials and US dignitaries boarded an Etihad Airways flight at Abu Dhabi bound for Ben-Gurion Airport.
According to Israeli officials, the five-hour visit would be restricted to the airport because of the pandemic restrictions.
“This is a historical moment for the UAE country and Israel and we are looking forward to salaam (peace) … in the region,” said one of the pilots in a video posted on Twitter by US Middle East envoy Ari Berkowitz.
Berkowitz along with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is part of the Emirati delegation which is led by Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq al-Mari and Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid al-Tayer.
The two US officials were part of an Israeli delegation to Bahrain on Sunday to take part in a signing ceremony to normalise ties.