Representations of the US, Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini flags projected onto a wall of Jerusalem's Old City, marking the day of an historic agreement. Photo / AP, File
Representations of the US, Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini flags projected onto a wall of Jerusalem's Old City, marking the day of an historic agreement. Photo / AP, File
OPINION
While the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the largest refugee crisis in modern history is dominating attention, progress made in the Middle East since the historic signing of agreements continues to demonstrate a model for peaceful international relations - including for Europe.
The Abraham Accords, an historic agreement wassigned in September 2020, officially normalising relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Shortly after, Morocco announced its renewal of diplomatic relations with Israel.
And Sudan signed an agreement on the normalisation of relations with Israel in Khartoum.
We should not forget that most of the Middle East has been intent for five decades on destroying the State of Israel, resulting in numerous bloody wars and acts of state-sponsored terrorism.
Ironically, the first majority Muslim countries to sign peace treaties with the new Jewish country in 1950 were Iran and Turkey, who now are Israel's only remaining opponents.
The Abraham Accords have opened wide the doors to significant new opportunities, which benefit the region, from economy and trade, to diplomacy, to civil society.
In the first year of the signing of the Accords, the UAE opened a US$10 billion ($15.8b) fund for investments in Israel allocated towards key strategic sectors such as agritech, energy, water, space and healthcare.
Bilateral trade between the UAE and Israel grew to $700 million. UAE Minister for Trade, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, projected that growth would reach more than $1 trillion in the next decade.
These important milestones have also allowed the people-to-people relations of the Abraham Accords' partner countries to flourish unlike ever before. For example, 130,000 Israelis visited the UAE within the first 12 months of the signing of the Abraham Accords.
Social initiatives have also been growing – the Friendship Cup where Israel's national rugby team flew to Dubai for a friendly game. Previously, such sporting contacts would have been unthinkable.
Other peaceful initiatives are transforming Arab-Israeli relations in the region. This trend is perfectly demonstrated by Israel taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai, showcasing Israel's innovation.
Julien Leys. Photo / Supplied
There have also been multiple high-level diplomatic exchanges between Israel and Accords signatory countries, including visits to Israel from high-level representatives of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
In addition, Israel has opened for the first time embassies in the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain. The UAE, Morocco and Bahrain have also opened embassies in Israel.
Moreover, while not yet a signatory, in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, Europe's Kosovo, which is equally a Muslim majority country, recently opened an embassy in Jerusalem.
The stability and resilience of the Abraham Accords have withstood significant challenges over the past two years, such as the May 2021 Hamas-led attacks which launched more than 4000 rockets towards Israel, targeting innocent civilians in the same way as is happening in numerous Ukrainian cities.
Even at the height of the Hamas terrorist attacks, not one of the Abraham Accords partners withdrew diplomats from Israel.
The realities on the ground tell the true political, economic peaceful story of the strength of the Abraham Accords.
Most recently, Israel hosted the US Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt at the Negev Summit, in Sde Boker in March.
The six Foreign Ministers participated in mutual talks on a wide range of regional issues, including economy, peace and security. These talks led to the mutual decision between the ministers to make the Negev Summit into a permanent forum.
At the conclusion of the summit, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: "We are today opening a door before all the peoples of the region, including the Palestinians, and offering them to replace the way of terror and destruction with a shared future of progress and success".
This new diplomatic and regional architecture in the Middle East deserves acknowledgement and support, not only in New Zealand but especially in the European Union and Russia where it may prove to be the benchmark for bringing an end to war and a return to peace for war-torn Ukraine.
• Julien Leys is the director of Pendulum Strategies, a New Zealand-based communications agency specialising in strategic public relations.
