FM Katz goes to UAE days after Bahrain workshop
‘Significant step up in the relations between Israel and the states in the region’
Foreign Minister Israel Katz participated Monday in a UN meeting on the environment in Abu Dhabi, his media adviser Arye Shalicar announced, just days after Israelis – including journalists – openly visited Bahrain for a US-sponsored conference there.
“I am excited to stand here in Abu Dhabi and to represent the interests of the State of Israel vis-à-vis the Arab Gulf states,” said Katz, who also holds the intelligence ministry portfolio. “This is a significant step up in the relations between Israel and the states in the region.”
According to Shalicar’s statement, Katz met with a senior United Arab Emirates official. Katz flew to Abu Dhabi on Sunday and left the following day. It was his second public visit to a Persian Gulf country in eight months. In November, as transportation minister, he attended an international transportation conference in Oman.
During Katz’s meeting with the UAE official, Shalicar said, the relationship between Israel and the UAE was discussed, as were regional issues. The need to deal with the threat of a nuclear Iran, its ballistic missile development, and support for terrorists in the region were also part of the discussion. Shalicar said Katz and his UAE interlocutor also discussed developing ties in hi-tech, energy, agriculture and water management.
“I will continue to work with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to promote the normalization policy from a position of strength, based on Israel’s capabilities, both in the fields of security and intelligence, and in the various civilian spheres,” Katz said. “I intend to continue leading this policy in the future.”
Katz also presented his ambitious “Tracks to Peace” plan, which would link Persian Gulf countries to the Mediterranean Sea via train tracks running through Jordan and Israel. He presented this plan at the railroad conference in Oman last year.
Katz’s appearance on Monday was the first public visit by an Israeli minister since Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev went to the UAE in October after Israel’s judo team took gold at a tournament.
The UN’s two-day Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting brought together more than 1,700 government ministers, business leaders and environment experts from some 160 countries to evaluate the progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Katz also met on the sidelines with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, raising the issue of missing Israelis and soldiers being held in Gaza.