The cabinet of the United Arab Emirates on Monday approved an agreement to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel that was signed in Washington last month, ahead of a visit by a UAE delegation to Israel.
The UAE and fellow Gulf state Bahrain in September became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to sign agreements to establish formal ties with Israel, forming a new axis in the Middle East against Iran.
On Sunday, Israel and Bahrain cemented a deal officially establishing relations and signed seven memorandums of understanding, further opening up the wealthy Gulf region to the Jewish state.
A cabinet statement said the Abraham Accord would be "an avenue of peace and stability to support the ambitions of the region's people, and enhance efforts for prosperity and advancement, especially as it paves the way for deepening economic, culture and knowledge ties."
Israel ratified the deal in a cabinet vote and a parliamentary vote last week.
A UAE delegation is expected to visit Israel today, accompanied by US officials who arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday from Bahrain, where they had joined an Israeli delegation on a tip to Manama to sign a communique formalizing nascent ties.
Israel and the UAE have already signed several memoranda of understanding. They will ink a deal today to allow 28 weekly commercial flights between Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Israel's Transportation Ministry has said.
