Israeli PM Bennett makes first official visit to UAE

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Israeli PM Bennett makes first official visit to UAE

Since the two countries established diplomatic ties last year, Naftali Bennett is going to make the first official visit by an Israeli prime minister to the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, Bennett will meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, to discuss the deepening of the ties between Israel and the UAE, especially economic and regional issues, according to his office.

The UAE became the third majority Arab nation to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel last year, after its neighbours Egypt and Jordan.

Bahrain and Morocco were part of a series of deals brokered by former US president Donald Trump. Sudan agreed to normalise ties with Israel under the pacts known as the Abraham Accords, but full relations have not yet materialised.

The deals would give Israel new regional allies against Iran and bolster its diplomatic efforts to prevent the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons, according to the accords negotiated by Bennett's predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Bennett's visit came as Iran and world powers resumed negotiations in Vienna on the 2015 nuclear deal that offered Iran sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The Israeli PM called for the talks to be stopped, accusing Tehran of nuclear blackmail and charging that it will use any revenue from sanctions relief to bolster a military arsenal that can harm Israel.

The Abraham Accords were strongly condemned by the Palestinians, because they broke with decades of Arab League consensus against recognising Israel until it signed a peace deal establishing a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

While Bennett is the first Israel prime minister to visit UAE, his foreign minister, Yair Lapid, opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi and opened a consulate in Dubai in June, while the UAE established an embassy in Tel Aviv.