.@AmbAlKhaja raises the Emirati flag pic.twitter.com/YupvB92iAc
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) July 14, 2021
“This embassy is not just a hub for diplomats, but a base to continue in our new partnership,” UAE Ambassador Mohamed Al Khaja said. “It marks a new paradigm for peace and a model for a new collaborative approach for conflict resolution.”
The UAE and Israel announced they were making peace and normalizing relations last August, in what was called the Abraham Accords, and Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco followed soon after. Israel opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai last month when Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited the UAE.
The TASE was crowded with excited guests for the embassy opening, among them President Isaac Herzog and former foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Lapid was in quarantine because one of his aides had tested positive for COVID-19.
Al Khaja met Herzog at his car on a narrow central Tel Aviv street, outside the stock exchange building, where passers-by watched proceedings from across the street.
The ambassador escorted the president to flagpoles set up outside, where the ambassador raised the Emirati flag as his country’s anthem played.
At the end of the ceremony, Al Khaja opened the day’s TASE trading.
In his remarks, Al Khaja touted the planned cooperation between universities, hospitals and researchers in Israel and the UAE, as well as the agreements the countries signed in the areas of economics, air travel and agriculture, and said they are “just the beginning.”
“In the post-COVID world, those who innovate will lead,” the ambassador said. “The UAE and Israel are innovative nations that will harness innovation for the future of the people of the country and the region. The people of the region are hoping for a new, prosperous Middle East.”
Herzog said that “seeing the Emirati flag flying in Tel Aviv may have seemed like a far-fetched dream a year ago.”
However, the president added, “nothing can be more natural or more normal,” because Israelis and Emiratis have so much in common.
“We are deeply rooted in our land, with eyes on the stars. We are building modern states out of desert sands, and made the impossible possible,” Herzog said.
The location of the ceremony at the TASE was fitting because of economic ties between the nations, he added.
“With people-to-people dialogue, both of our cultures will be enriched,” the president said.
Herzog thanked UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their work on bringing the two nations together, and emphasized the former’s “opening the door to a warm friendship between our peoples.”