Foreign minister closes 2-day trip to UAE by inaugurating Israeli mission in the emirate after touring Dubai Expo 2020; says new allies created peace for the next generation
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Foreign Minister Yair Lapid officially inaugurated Israel’s consulate in Dubai on Wednesday, calling it a center of dialogue and cooperation.
“What we are opening today is not only a consulate, but also the center of our cooperation,” he said. “This place symbolizes our ability to think together, to develop together, to change the world together.”
Lapid emphasized that the peace between the UAE and Israel “is not between governments and leaders, but between people and nations.”
“It is not my peace, or that of my friends standing here, but of our children,” he said.
Lapid opened Israel’s embassy in Abu Dhabi the day before, hailing the “historic moment” as a time “we chose peace over war.”
While in Abu Dhabi, Lapid went out of his way to thank former prime minister and political rival Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he called “the architect of the Abraham Accords and who worked tirelessly to bring them about.” He also expressed his gratitude to former US president Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden.