UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrives in the US to sign peace accord with Israel

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, arrived in Washington DC on Sunday night to sign the historic UAE-Israel peace accord.

The signing ceremony is set to take place on Tuesday, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sheikh Abdullah, who was invited by US President Donald Trump, is representing UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, official news agency WAM reported.

A high level delegation from UAE is accompanying Sheikh Abdullah on the trip.

As part of the historic Abraham Accord, Israel will cease further annexation of Palestinian territories in exchange for the UAE establishing ties and recognising the state of Israel.

Read: UAE, Israel agree on historic deal to establish diplomatic ties

Since then, several Israeli and UAE entities have entered into agreements across diverse areas including technology, healthcare, and finance.

On August 31, the first commercial flight from Israel landed in the UAE, with an Israeli and American delegation including Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, onboard.

During the official visit to the UAE, the three countries issued a joint statement pledging bilateral technical cooperation in seven key areas including investment, finance, health, the civilian space programme, civil aviation, foreign policy and diplomatic affairs, and tourism and culture.

Read also: UAE, Israel, US issue joint statement reaffirming peace plans; will cooperate in 7 key areas

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has also officially abolished a previous law, the Federal Law No. 15 of 1972, boycotting Israel, further encouraging individuals and companies in the UAE to enter into agreements with their Israeli counterparts.

Read more: UAE President Sheikh Khalifa scraps Israel boycott law

On Friday, the White House announced that Bahrain had also agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. A high-level delegation from Bahrain will also sign the deal in the White House on Tuesday.

Read: Bahrain joins UAE in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel