UAE announces $10bn investment fund with Israel

The UAE has announced the establishment of a $10bn fund aimed at strategic sectors in Israel.

The announcement came in the wake of a call shared between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.

Through this fund, the UAE will invest in and alongside Israel across sectors including energy, manufacturing, water, space, healthcare and agritech. The investment fund will support development initiatives to promote regional economic cooperation between the two countries.

Fund allocations will derive from government and private sector institutions, official news agency WAM reported.

It builds on the Abraham Accords and aims to bolster economic ties between the region’s two economies, unlocking investments and partnership opportunities to drive socio-economic progress.

Netanyahu said the two agreed that the Israeli leader’s first trip to the UAE, which was canceled on Thursday, would take place soon.

The UAE and Israel have also begun formal discussions to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor between the two countries, applicable to passengers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The corridor will facilitate travel for commercial, tourism, and official purposes. The UAE and Israel have among the highest rates of vaccinations administered per capita in the world.

Read: UAE, Israel consider quarantine-free travel corridor for fully vaccinated individuals

With inputs from Bloomberg