Israel FM: Trade with Abraham Accord countries exceeded $2.8bn in 2022

Israel’s new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said yesterday that the volume of trade with Arab countries that normalised relations with Israel under the US-negotiated Abraham Accords in 2020 broke the 10 billion-shekel ($2.8 billion) barrier in 2022.

Cohen said the Abraham Accords have dramatically changed the face of the Middle East.

He added that a summit will be held in March with Arab countries, noting that the directors-general of the foreign ministries of countries participating in the March summit are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi next week.

“In light of the enormous contribution of the Abraham Accords to the participating countries, expanding the accords to additional countries is not a question of if, but of when,” he added.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave for the UAE within days as the head of a government delegation, on his first foreign visit since taking office last Thursday.

Israel’s Channel 14 reported that Netanyahu will visit the UAE to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and the Iranian issue.

The channel added that Netanyahu will be accompanied by his wife, Sarah as well as the new head of the National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, and other ministers.

In September 2020, under the auspices of the former US President Donald Trump, Israel signed normalisation agreements dubbed the “Abraham Accords” with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.