The United Arab Emirates opened its embassy in Israel on Wednesday, with Israel's president attending the flag-raising ceremony.
The embassy is situated in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building and its opening followed the inauguration of Israel's embassy in the UAE last month.
The UAE's ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, raised his country's flag outside the Stock Exchange building, with President Isaac Herzog at his side.
"Opening the embassy is an important milestone on our path to peace, prosperity and security in the Middle East," said Herzog during the ceremony.
"Seeing the Emirati flag flying proudly in Tel Aviv might have seemed like a far-fetched dream about a year ago," he said. "In many ways nothing could be more natural and normal."
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President Isaac Herzog and UAE's ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja
(Photo: Reuters)
"Since the normalisation of ties ...we have seen for the first time discussions on trade and investment opportunities," Al Khaja said, after raising his country's flag outside the building.
"We signed major agreements across various fields, including economy, air travel, technology and culture.
"The peoples of the region want a stable and prosperous Middle East. It is time for new approaches, to think of a new and better way for the future of the region. It is our hope that the opening of the embassy will mark an important milestone in relations between the countries."
Brought together by shared worries about Iran and hopes for commercial boons, the UAE and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel last year under the "Abraham Accords" crafted by the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sudan and Morocco have since also moved to establish ties with Israel.