Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed will discuss regional concerns as tensions rise with Iran.
https://www.jpost.com/-By LAHAV HARKOV
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, June 9, 2022. (photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to meet with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, for a previously unannounced visit.
The meeting came less than a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors voted to rebuke Iran for not cooperating with monitoring of its nuclear program, a possible signal that Bennett and MBZ, as the Emirati leader is known, plan to coordinate their strategies on that front.
Boarding the plane to Abu Dhabi, Bennett commended the IAEA for its decision, “which clearly states that Iran is continuing to play games and is continuing to conceal and hide,” he said.
“On the one hand, we see in this decision the lies and the hypocrisy of Iran on the nuclear issue and in general,” Bennett stated. “On the other hand, we see here a firm stance by the countries of the world regarding the distinction between good and evil, as they clearly state that Iran is concealing things. We will not let up on this issue.”
The trip is Bennett’s second to the UAE as prime minister, and his third meeting with MBZ; they met once in Sharm a-Sheikh along with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah a-Sisi, as well.
Israel and the UAE have had diplomatic relations since August 2020, when the Abraham Accords were announced.
Bennett also offered his condolences at the death of previous UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, and praised MBZ as “a man of vision and a brave leader.”
“Today, together, we will take to the special bond that has been woven between our countries to the next level — for the growth and security of both our peoples,” he said.
Bennett was welcomed to the UAE by an honor guard and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed.