UAE, Israel plan to include Palestinian areas in bilateral economic cooperation

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) –The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel are in talks about including some Palestinian areas in their bilateral economic cooperation, therefore Palestinians also get benefited, a top UAE official has stated, according to WAM news agency.

“We have discussed this today with my Israeli counterpart and we are working on something,” UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marrisaid at an online event organised by the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan organisation in the U.S. on Wednesday (Sep 16).

About some Israeli officials putting 500 million U.S. dollars as the potential value of the UAE-Israeli economic engagements, he said, “We are in calculation. I don’t have figures with me. We will announce it very soon.”

However, he estimates that between 300 million and 550 million U.S. dollars’ worth businesses will emerge as part of the deal.

“An exact figure will come later,” the minister added.

The deal between both sides will not cause any competition but complement each other’s economic interests, he said.

Regarding potential accelerators for post-COVID economic recovery in the UAE, Al Marri said research and development, and technology sectors would play that role.

Reducing tariff on trade will also help the UAE economy’s recovery, he added.

Earlier, on Tuesday (Sep 15), the UAE, Bahrain and Israel signed the Abraham Accord ‘peace’ document at the White House in United States’ capital city of Washington.

In addition to the Abraham Accord, the UAE and Israel also signed a ‘peace’ agreement, diplomatic relations and full normalization, including a deal on cooperation in all areas of development.

Reporting by Indonesia Window