1st official UAE delegation arrives in Israel, signs bilateral agreements

An airplane carrying the first official delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lands at the Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 20, 2020. The first official delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landed in Israel on Tuesday and signed four bilateral agreements, according to a Youtube live broadcast by Israeli prime minister's office. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The first official delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landed in Israel on Tuesday and signed four bilateral agreements, according to a Youtube live broadcast by Israeli prime minister's office.

The delegation, headed by UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al-Tayer and Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq Al-Marri, was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an official ceremony at the Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv.

"Jews and Arabs are descendants of one common ancestor, Avraham," Netanyahu said in his welcoming remarks. "We shall remember this day, a glorious day of peace."

The four agreements signed by Israeli and UAE officials are an agreement on promotion and protection of investments between the two countries, a visa exemption deal that allows Israelis and Emiratis to enter freely to each other's territories, a transportation and aviation deal on establishing regular passenger and cargo flights, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in science and innovation.

"We have achieved serious progress between our governments since the signing of the historical peace agreement," Al-Tayer said during the ceremony.

"The economic cooperation between our two countries will come to fruition after we sign the agreements," he added.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is also in Israel, announced that the Abraham Fund, named after the Abraham Accords normalization deal between Israel and the UAE, will be created.

The 3-billion-U.S.-dollar fund will funnel investments in projects that promote economic cooperation and prosperity in the region, Mnuchin said during the ceremony.

The UAE and Bahrain signed normalization deals with Israel at the White House on Sept. 15. They are the first Arab nations in 26 years to establish formal ties with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.