UAE and Israeli health ministers sign green corridor agreement

The UAE and Israel have established a green corridor that allows vaccinated people to travel freely between the countries.

Health officials agreed to recognise each other’s coronavirus vaccine certificates.

The number of new Covid cases has fallen in Israel and the UAE following the introduction of booster vaccine doses.

In Israel, which has offered everyone over the age of 12 a booster, there were 543 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday.

In the UAE – which has offered a booster to residents who received a second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine more than six months ago – there were 94 new cases that day.

Both Israel and the Emirates operate app-based green pass systems which require people to be vaccinated to visit many public places.

The agreement was signed online on Sunday by Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, and his Israel counterpart Nitzan Horowitz in the presence of senior government officials.

Mr Al Owais said that the agreement was part of wider co-operation between the countries in health matters.

“I was happy to sign this morning with the health minister of the United Arab Emirates,

an agreement for a green passage between the two countries,” Mr Horowitz wrote on Twitter.

“The agreement allows free movement between Israel and the Emirates and mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and green passports, without isolation or bureaucracy,” he said.

Israel’s success in tackling the Delta variant of the coronavirus has prompted some virology and health experts to suggest booster doses should be given to more than just vulnerable people.

Both the UAE and Israel have urged residents and citizens to take booster vaccine shots to improve resistance to the virus