UAE, Israel ministers in 'historic' first meet at Holocaust Memorial

TDT|Berlin

Tuesday, foreign ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates met at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The meeting is widely considered as a major step forward for the new relationship between the two countries.

Israel's Gabi Ashkenazi and UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan stressed on the need of co-operation with each other on measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

It was their first face-to-face meeting since their countries set-asides decades of hostility and signed a US-brokered deal in mid-September to normalise ties.

They were accompanied by their host German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Ashkenazi and Sheikh Abdullah shared a few words between each other. The visit by the Emirati minister to the Holocaust Memorial is a highly symbolic step, marking the shift in attitudes in the Arab world towards Israel and Jews reported AFP

Political conflicts have led to fierce tensions between Islam and Judaism and Holocaust denial is rampant in many Arab countries.

“It is a great honour that the Israeli and Emirati foreign ministers picked Berlin as the site for their historic first meeting.The most important currency in diplomacy is trust and I am personally thankful to both my colleagues that they are placing this trust in Germany." –Mass said.

Bahrain and the UAE became the first Arab nations to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.