President Sheikh Mohamed congratulates Israeli PM Netanyahu on formation of government

UAE leader hopes to strengthen ties between the nations

President Sheikh Mohamed spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday. Ministry of the Presidential Court; AFP

President Sheikh Mohamed congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on assuming leadership of the new government in the country.

During a phone call on Saturday, Sheikh Mohamed expressed his hope that the nations would further strengthen their ties across all fields, focusing particularly on matters of development, as well as advancing the path of partnership and peace for the benefit of the two countries and the broader region.

Mr Netanyahu, who formed a government last week with support from other parties after his November 1 election win, thanked Sheikh Mohamed and emphasised the importance of relations with the UAE.

The UAE and Bahrain became the first two Gulf states to establish relations with Israel after signing the Abraham Accords.

The agreements paved the way for ties between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel in all state sectors.

In May, the two countries signed the UAE-Israel Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

According to UAE data, the agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade to more than $10 billion within five years and add $1.9 billion to gross domestic product in the same period.

The agreement builds on the exponential growth in trade and investment the UAE and Israel have enjoyed since the signing of the Abraham Accords.

From September 2020 to March 2022, non-oil trade exceeded $2.5 billion, including $1.06 billion in the first three months of 2022 — five times the total from the same period in 2021, official UAE statistics show.