Lapid appoints Amir Hayek as Israeli ambassador to UAE

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has appointed Amir Hayek as Israel's permanent ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Hayek is chairman of the Israel Hotels Association and has served as president of the Israel Industrial Association and director general of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour.

Yair Lapid explained his decision by stating that "Amir Hayek, who has extensive experience and knowledge in the fields of economics and tourism, is the right man to establish the bridge between Israel and the Emirates. After the opening of the Embassy, it is time to appoint the first ambassador to the UAE". 

For his part, Hayek thanked "Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for the confidence. It is a great honour for me to be the first ambassador to the UAE and to represent the State of Israel".

Last June, Israel opened its first embassy in a Gulf country in the United Arab Emirates. Following the inauguration of the delegation, Lapid travelled to Abu Dhabi, becoming the first member of the Israeli government to visit the Arab country since the signing of the Abraham Accords. During the inaugural event, Lapid expressed his desire to 'maintain peace with its neighbours'. 

The appointment marks the normalisation of diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a result of the Abraham Accords, a historic pact that normalised relations between the UAE and Israel.

In recent months, Israel and the UAE have entered into a number of agreements in various sectors, with particular relevance in the trade sector. In this regard, the UAE announced the creation of a $10 billion investment fund to finance strategic sectors in Israel.  On the other hand, Palestine describes these rapprochements as a 'betrayal' since, until the inauguration of the Israeli embassy in the UAE, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had been a precondition for any rapprochement or agreement on the normalisation of relations with Israel.