President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi received Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, in Egypt.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Tuesday hosted a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, according to the Egyptian presidency.
The meeting, which took place in Sharm el-Sheikh, a seaside resort on the Red Sea, focused “in particular on energy and food security” in the context of the war in Ukraine, according to the presidential spokesman, Bassam Radi.
The Gulf oil countries, including the Emirates, are resisting Western pressure to increase production and curb the surge in crude prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Egypt, which imports 85% of its wheat and 73% of its sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia, is bearing the brunt of the unprecedented spike in grain and oil prices resulting from Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor .
This tripartite meeting is the first of its kind bringing together these three leaders. Egypt is the first Arab country to have signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, ending the state of war between the two neighboring countries. The United Arab Emirates, oil monarchy of the Gulf, have normalized their relations with Israel in 2020.
Opening of a direct air link between Tel-Aviv and Sharm el-Sheikh
It comes against the backdrop of talks between Iran and the major powers in Vienna on the issue of the Iranian nuclear program, the impact of a potential agreement on which is gauged by Israel and several Arab countries, such as Egypt and the Emirates.
The Jewish state takes a dim view of a possible international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, its number one enemy, Mr. Bennett denouncing a desire to sign an agreement “almost at any price”.
Last week, an Israeli delegation held talks with Egyptian officials. Israel had announced the opening of a direct air link between Tel Aviv and Sharm el-Sheikh from April.
According to the official Emirates news agency, Wam, “the meeting focused on strengthening relations as well as the importance of cooperation, coordination and dialogue to meet the aspirations of development and stability in the region”.
The three officials also addressed the issue of “energy security and the stability of world markets”, according to the same source.