Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will hold a trilateral meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the coming days, political sources in Tel Aviv said.
The meeting aims to discuss cooperation between the three countries within the framework of the Abraham Accords, in addition to Iran and the Biden administration’s nuclear talks with Tehran.
Lapid is expected to travel to Washington on Monday for talks with senior Biden administration officials, including Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lapid’s office said that three ministers should discuss progress made in the Emirati-Israeli relations since the signing of the Abraham Accords last year, and to study additional opportunities to boost peace in the Middle East, in addition to security issues and regional stability.
Blinken last month pledged to encourage more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel as he hosted a virtual meeting with Israeli and Arab counterparts to mark the first anniversary of the set of landmark diplomatic agreements.
The leaders of Israel, the UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords, widely seen as a diplomatic success for former President Donald Trump, at the White House in September of last year.
Biden has backed the deals since taking office in January, and senior aides have said they were working to get additional Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel after decades of enmity.