UAE and Israel discuss co-operation...

Ministers met to discuss several factors, including the possibility of increasing direct flights between the two nations

At the recent opening of the Israeli Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi met with the Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov to discuss growing business opportunities across priority sectors, accelerating non-oil trade exchanges and diversifying bilateral investments, post-pandemic.

High on the agenda was increasing the number of direct flights between the UAE and Israel in an effort to foster increased co-operation in the tourism sector.

During the meeting, Al Falasi commented: “The UAE-Israeli relations are steadily growing and we’re determined to further develop them over the coming period.

“The UAE’s tourist and hotel establishments have secured high occupancy rates over the past period, overtaking 10 of the world’s most-visited tourist destinations. An achievement that would not have been made, but for the efforts at the country level to stamp out the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Al Falasi also noted that Expo 2020 Dubai represents a valuable opportunity for the Israeli businesses to benefit from the opportunities up for grabs during the global fair, remarking that non-oil trade exchanges between the two nations amounted to $700 million since the signing of the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.

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Razvozov added: “On the occasion of the first anniversary of signing the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement, we affirm the impressive success achieved over the past period by the two nations especially at the tourist level.

“Despite the movement restrictions associated with the pandemic, the tourist exchanges between the two nations witnessed significant momentum, with around 250,000 Israeli tourists having visited the UAE over the past period. And we expect co-operation in this field to further grow over the coming period.

For more information on Expo Dubai 2020, visit www.expo2020dubai.com