The United Arab Emirates will host the inaugural "Abraham Accords Festival and Games" at Expo 2020 Dubai on March 29, the U.S. Embassy in Israel announced on Thursday.
Senior officials from the U.S., Israel, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco will participate in the day-long event that will feature national soccer legends and top chefs from the Abraham Accords countries.
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L-R: Bahrain FM Abdullatif al-Zayani, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Emirati FM Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House, September 2020
(Photo: AFP)
The U.S.-brokered agreement normalized relations between Israel and these Arab nations, with Sudan also establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
The delegation will include U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al-Khaja and Bahraini Ambassador to Israel Khaled al-Jalahma, along with government ministers from the participating countries.
“This event is part of a broader effort — whereby ongoing sports, food and cultural events serve as cement to form strong people-to-people ties between the signees of the Abraham Accords," Al-Khaja said.
Nides said that the event "is an opportunity to forge long-lasting connections between athletes, restauranteurs, and other doers and makers who have created such vibrant societies in the UAE, Israel, Morocco and Bahrain."
The U.S. envoy added that "this is what peace looks like.”
The festivities will include an exhibition soccer match with top soccer players from each country, a cultural dinner cooked by elite chefs representing each nation and the signing of a declaration paving the way for future collaborations.