Israeli media terms the presence Israel’s first Diplomatic Mission in UAE while Abu Dhabi official says the mission will not change UAE’s position towards Israel

Israel plans to have an official presence at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi, which will be its first openly established representative office in the United Arab Emirates, Israeli diplomats said on Friday.

The office will not be a full mission, but it will be the first time an Israeli foreign ministry official has been permanently stationed in the Gulf state.

While Israel, in the past, has had trade delegations in Qatar, Oman, Morocco and Tunisia, but this diplomatic mission will serve as Israel’s first type of formal presence in the UAE.

Israeli media terms it ‘First Israeli Diplomatic Mission in UAE’

Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz terms the presence as ‘Israel’s first Diplomatic Mission to UAE’. The paper confirmed that the director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Dr. Dore Gold, traveled to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to finalize the mission’s opening. Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon also confirmed the mission would open soon in comments to the Associated Press.

A senior Israeli official told Haaretz that because of the sensitivity of the move, the new legation will be officially accredited to the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is based in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Dore Gold, director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, visited Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to participate in the biannual meeting of IRENA’s Council.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the information first published in the media. Israel doesn’t have formal diplomatic ties with most Middle East states because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s only formal relations are with neighbors Egypt and Jordan.

After the news of Israel’s official presence in UAE, Maryam Al Falasi, Director of Communications at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: The reports claimed that the appointment of an Israeli representative to the IRENA (in Abu Dhabi), does not reflect a change in UAE position towards the Jewish state.

The senior UAE official said that “Irenais an international, independent agency that works according to the laws, regulations and norms that govern the work of such organisations.”

Therefore, “any agreement between Irena and Israel does not represent any change in the position of the UAE or its relations with Israel,” she was quoted by WAM as saying.

She clarifies that the functions of missions accredited to IRENA, are “limited to affairs related to their communications and dealings with the Agency. They do not, under any circumstances, involve any obligation upon the host country with regards to its diplomatic relations or any other relations.”

Israel and UAE relations

Israeli passport holders are banned from entering the UAE and the two countries have no formal ties because of a number of issues such as Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and settlement building in East Jerusalem.

However, the new official presence is a symbol of Israel’s developing ties with its Sunni Arab neighbors in the Middle East. It has intensified its security and intelligence relationship with Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi over the Sinai Peninsula where the Sinai Province militant group, an Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate, operates.