Netanyahu to visit UAE on first-ever state trip

PM Netanyahu has toured the Emirates on previous occasions, but never in an official capacity as Head of State on a diplomatic visit.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to finally visit the United Arab Emirates on his first state visit to the Gulf country, nearly three years after he helped secure the historic Abraham Accords agreements that saw Israel normalize relations with the country.

Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog were invited by Emirati officials to visit the country for the COP28 climate change conference, which is slated to be held in November.

The COp28 conference will include leaders from around the world and aims to establish a “clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to inclusive climate action,” according to a press release from the Emirati government.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was recently re-admitted to the Arab League after his exclusion from the entity due his human rights violations in the ongoing civil war in the Levantine country, also reportedly received an invitation to the conference.

Notably, Netanyahu has toured the Emirates on previous occasions, but never in an official capacity as Head of State on a diplomatic visit. Should the conference visit in November come to fruition, it will mark Netanyahu’s first formal visit to the country within his official capacity as premier.

In September 2020, Netanyahu signed the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain, which has seen the countries engage in economic and security cooperation, direct flights, and mutual investment for the first time.

Netanyahu was originally meant to visit the Emirates several months after signing the deal, but he postponed his trip due to the coronavirus pandemic. A new date for the premier to visit the country was set for summer 2021, but political tensions stemming from the May 2021 Guardian of the Walls Israel-Gaza clash saw the UAE rescind the invitation.

Earlier this year, yet another rescheduled visit for Netanyahu was canceled by Abu Dhabi due to anger over National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount.