On December 12, 2021, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett started the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to strengthen Gulf ties at a time of heightened regional tension, as global powers try to revive nuclear deal with Iran.
Israeli PM’s first official visit to UAE
Naftali Bennett took office as the head of Israeli coalition government in June 2021. He has planned to hold talks with the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
The UAE, followed by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, have been taking steps since August 2020 to normalise ties with Israel under a U.S.-sponsored initiative called “Abraham Accords”. Bennett’s trip to UAE is the first trip by an Israeli premier to any of those countries since Abraham Accords was signed.
