UAE, Israel foreign ministers to meet in Germany, hold press conference

Foreign ministers of the UAE and Israel will meet in Germany on Tuesday and hold a joint press conference, the UAE foreign ministry told Al Arabiya English on Monday.

It will be the first in-person meeting between Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

The two officials spoke over the phone on August 16 when they inaugurated a phone link between the UAE and Israel, three days after the announcement of the historic agreement between the two countries.

Phone calls between the UAE and Israel had previously been blocked. In the call, the foreign ministers agreed to meet soon, Ashkenazi said in a tweet after the call.

I spoke today with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, we decided to establish a direct line between us in advance of our normalization agreement, and we agreed to meet soon. pic.twitter.com/nzxIdAlJuw

— גבי אשכנזי - Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) August 16, 2020

Last month Al Nahyan represented the UAE at the signing of the peace agreement - called the “Abraham Accord” - at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani.

Al Nahyan said at the time that the agreement was a “change in the heart of the Middle East.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 15, 2020. (Reuters)

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