Israel’s Ministry of Economy gives its first estimate of the value of direct trade with and investments from the UAE.
Israel’s Economy Ministry is estimating that the new peace deal with the United Arab Emirates will lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in exports each year from Israel to the UAE, and in investments from the UAE into the Jewish state.
Last Thursday, the Trump administration announced that it had brokered a peace agreement which will normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, including the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, direct trade, and investment.
The two sides are expected to formally sign a series of agreements, to be known as the Abraham Accords, in a matter of weeks.
On Sunday, the Economy Ministry revealed the dollar value of normalized relations with the UAE, estimating that the exports to and investments from the Gulf Arab state will be worth at least $600 million a year.
According to the ministry’s report Sunday, Israel officially exports just $300,000-worth of goods to the UAE every year.
Immediately following the signing of the Abraham Accords, however, that figure is expected to surge to between $300 million to $500 million per annum.
In addition, investors in the UAE are expected to pour some $350 million into Israeli businesses annually.
The industries expected to benefit the most from exports to the UAE and investments from the seven-emirate federation are cyber security, medical equipment production, financial technology, and communications.
In addition, the ministry expects the UAE to invest heavily in Israeli Arab communities.
PM Netanyahu on Sunday said he expects more Arab countries to normalize their ties with Israel after last week’s agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and that the process will eventually also drive peace with the Palestinians.
Sunday also saw telephone services between the United Arab Emirates and Israel initiated, as the two countries started opening diplomatic ties. Israeli news websites that had previously been blocked by UAE authorities could be accessed without using intermediary means to bypass internet filtering in the Emirates.
Emirati officials said Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had called his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi.
Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel issued a statement “congratulating the United Arab Emirates on removing the blocks.”
“Many economic opportunities will open now, and these trust-building steps are an important step toward advancing states’ interests,” Hendel said.
Early Sunday, the Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency announced that a UAE company had signed an agreement with an Israeli company for research and study of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Arutz 7 / Times of Israel).