Attending the meeting for Israel were Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, National Security Adviser Dr. Eyal Hulata, Prime Minister's Office Director General Na'ama Schultz, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Alon Ushpiz, Prime Minister's Military Secretary Maj.-Gen. Avi Gil and Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Amir Hayek.

Attending the meeting for the United Arab Emirates were Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth Minister; His Excellency Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; and Ambassador to the State of Israel His Excellency Mohamed Mahmoud Fateh Ali Abdulla Al Khaja.

The leaders discussed continuing to strengthen ties between their countries for the good of regional stability, their nations’ prosperity, and security for all of the region’s people. The two also discussed continuing economic development and cooperation in the fields of agriculture, energy, water, food security, and more. The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister emphasized the desire to build ties with additional nations in these areas.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister spoke about continuing the Negev Forum process and the desire to deepen ties between their nations through this forum.

The two commended one another on the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords, and for the fact that trade between their two countries is expected to reach $2.5 billion by the end of the year. This achievement is the result of hard work by the governments and the private sector.

The Prime Minister gave the Foreign Minister the Rav Saadia Gaon version of the Torah translated into Arabic.

Following are Prime Minister Lapid’s remarks at the joint statements:

“Your Highness, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed,

This is an historic visit of a regional leader that will advance the regional architecture we have been building this past year in the Middle East.

This is a visit of a strategic partner, that will strengthen economic and security ties between our countries.

This is a visit of a close and dear friend, with whom I can talk about everything.

And my friend: we will indeed discuss everything during your visit here.

Cooperation between our countries is progressing at an unbelievable pace.

Just a month and a half ago, the two of us took part in the virtual summit of the I2U2 initiative together with President Biden, Prime Minister Modi and President Mohammed bin Zayed. That economic cooperation initiative was born at a dinner you hosted in Washington together with Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

Before that, we met at the historic Negev Forum, together with the foreign ministers of the United States, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt.

When we thought of creating that meeting, you were the first person I called. I knew that if you came, others would follow.

That is exactly what happened, and in my eyes: that is the essence of leadership.

Before that, you welcomed me to Abu Dhabi, when we opened Israel’s Embassy there.

There and then you defined our shared goal: to transform the relationship between our countries into a bond between our peoples;

To turn the ties between our governments into ties between businesses;

To ensure that our peoples benefit from our ties,

To allow the instinctive entrepreneurship of our two great nations to drive us forward.

We have made huge strides this past year, but we have not even scratched the surface of the potential for cooperation in all fields— the economy, food security, energy, water, cyber, and of course, security.

Last January, I was appalled, as was every Israeli, and every civilized person, by the criminal drone attack on your beautiful country.

Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with you in the face of any terrorist attack.

Regrettably, we have experience in this area.

We know how it feels.

And we know which country is behind these attacks.

We know what needs to be done in response, and we know the right way to do it.

My friend, together, we are changing the face of the Middle East. We are changing it from war to peace, from terrorism to economic cooperation, from a discourse of violence and extremism to a dialogue of tolerance and cultural curiosity.

You may know that the Hebrew word  Shalom has two meanings – both hello and peace. So, I greet you with shalom, and I wish us all shalom: A blessing of peace.

Welcome to Israel, my dear friend.”