UAE, Israel Plan To Include Palestinian Areas In Bilateral Economic Engagements: Economy Minister

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 17th Sep, 2020) The United Arab Emirates and Israel are talking to each other about including some Palestinian areas in their bilateral economic engagements, therefore Palestinians also get benefitted, a top UAE official has revealed.

"We have discussed this today with my Israel counterpart and we are working on something," Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, said at an online event organised by the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan organisation in the US on Wednesday.

The minister said this in response to a question from Amjad Ahmad, Director, empowerME, Rafik Hariri Centre for the middle East, Atlantic Council, who moderated the event. Asked for more details, Al Marri said, "We are in talks and that is part of my agenda as well," without elaborating further.

About some Israeli officials putting US$500 million as the potential value of the UAE-Israeli economic engagements, he said, "We are in calculation. I don’t have figures with me; we will announce it very soon."

However, he estimates that between US$300 million and US$550 million worth businesses will emerge as part of the deal. "An exact figure will come later," the minister added.

The deal between both countries will not cause any competition but complement each other’s economic interests, he explained.

Regarding potential accelerators for post-COVID economic recovery in the UAE, Al Marri said research and development, and technology sectors would play that role. Reducing tariff on trade will also help the UAE economy’s recovery, he added.