Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted talks Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, his office said.
The meeting, which took place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, included discussions on “energy, market stability, and food security”, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Radi said.
The first three-way summit of its kind comes at a crucial time for the Middle East after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked concerns about stability and sent commodity prices soaring.
“Against the backdrop of the recent developments in the world and the region, the leaders discussed the ties between the three countries and ways to strengthen them on all levels,” said a statement from Bennett’s office.
Bennet and Sheikh Mohammed had arrived in Egypt on Monday.
Israeli media said the leaders would also discuss reports that Iran and Western powers, including the United States, are close to a deal to revive the 2015 nuclear accord.
Bennett is vehemently opposed to the deal which is designed to prevent Israel’s arch foe Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb — a goal the Islamic republic has always denied.
Bennett also travelled to Sharm el-Sheikh in September last year, in what was the first visit in over a decade by an Israeli prime minister.
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, after decades of enmity and conflict.
The official Emirati news agency WAM said the meeting “discussed ways of enhancing relations between the three countries”.
It also addressed “the importance of cooperation and coordination to drive development and enhance stability in the region, as well as bolstering global energy security and market stability.”
The three leaders also “exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues of mutual concern and relevant developments,” said WAM.
Sheikh Mohammed hosted Bennett in a landmark visit to Abu Dhabi last December, just over a year after the UAE normalised ties with Israel.
In 2020, it became the third Arab country to forge diplomatic ties under a series of US-brokered deals known as the Abraham Accords.
AFP