President Isaac Herzog meets Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan > WAM handout/AFP
UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan made his first visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem last week.
The trip was part of a visit to the Jewish state marking two years since the signing of the Abraham Accords, which normalised diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE, alongside Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Following a tour of the museum, bin Zayed laid a wreath at Yad Vashem’s Hall of Remembrance.
“I am here today to remind ourselves of the lessons that history teaches us and the great responsibility upon us to act with tolerance for building our community and society”, he wrote in Yad Vashem’s guestbook.
“We must take the brave step of building a bridge of true peace for the coming generations”.
After visiting Yad Vashem, bin Zayed was hosted by prime minister Yair Lapid for a meeting at the premier’s office in Jerusalem.
He was also hosted for an official luncheon by President Isaac Herzog.
Ties between Israel and the UAE have flourished in the past two years, with thousands of Israelis visiting the Gulf state and extensive diplomatic and security cooperation.
Trade between the two countries is expected to reach more than $2bn in 2022, up from $1.2bn last year.
