Israel, UAE ink agreement on climate, environment

Tel Aviv [Israel], July 16 (ANI): Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday signed a cooperation agreement in the fields of environment and climate.

The agreement aims to promote cooperation on the common environmental issues facing the two countries, including the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, protection of the marine and coastal environment, waste management, sustainable consumption and production, and air quality, Xinhua reported citing Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement.

The agreement was signed a day after the UAE opened an embassy in Israel.

The collaboration also includes the setup of a center to deal with climate challenges in the arid environment, R&D of environmental technologies, educational and awareness activities, joint projects, conferences and training courses, it added.

Last month, Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited the UAE on the first official trip by an Israeli minister to the Gulf state, where he inaugurated the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.

Israel and the UAE announced in August 2020 that they would normalise diplomatic relations, bringing over a decade of covert ties into the open.

Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco later also joined the US-brokered Abraham Accords, and other countries were also rumoured to be in talks. (ANI)