Israeli PM, Abu Dhabi crown prince holds first official meeting

JERUSALEM - Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held their first official meeting on Monday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Before flying back home, Bennett said in a video statement that he was "very optimistic" from his two-day trip to the UAE, which came more than a year after the Gulf state and Israel normalized their ties.

Bennett noted his trip was "very significant," thanked the crown prince for the "very warm hospitality and the in-depth, sincere and significant talks," and invited him to visit Israel.

"Our goal is to expand ties so that there is not only peace between the leaders but also between the peoples," Bennett said, adding that he was hopeful that the normalization deal would be "a cornerstone for a wide-ranging network of ties throughout the region."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed expressed hope for "stability in the Middle East" and said that the visit would "advance the relationship of cooperation towards more positive steps of the two nations and of the region," the UAE's state news agency WAM reported.

After their meeting, the leaders issued a joint statement, referring to the "successful" visit as "another milestone in the development of warm relations and a tremendous partnership forged between the two countries."

The two sides discussed economic and civic issues, including private and public sector cooperation in R&D, technology, food security, climate, water, energy, environment, health and tourism, the statement said.

The statement confirmed "a shared desire to advance a range of significant areas of cooperation to further strengthen trade and economic relations" by establishing a joint research and development fund.

The leaders also discussed joint efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including cooperation on testing and treatment.

The visit came amid Israeli diplomatic bids to halt the nuclear talks between world powers and Iran.

Israel and the UAE signed the so-called Abraham Accord, a US-brokered normalization agreement, in September 2020. The UAE was the first Gulf state to agree to normalize its ties with Israel.

In late June, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid flew to the UAE, in the first visit by a senior Israeli official, to open the first Israeli embassy in the Gulf state. About a month later, the UAE inaugurated its embassy in Israel.