Flags of United Arab Emirates and Israel flutter during Israel’s National Day ceremony at Expo 2020 Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Christopher Pike

Liron Zaslansky presented her credentials as Israel’s first Consul General in Dubai on Tuesday in the latest example of deepening ties between the UAE and Israel ahead of the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords.

https://twitter.com/lironza/status/1569662697100263431

Zaslansky’s appointment was first announced by then-Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in December of 2021. The presenting of credentials marks the official start of her tenure following her arrival in August. Israel and the UAE exchanged ambassadors in 2021.

For the UAE’s part, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will travel to Israel this week for his first bilateral trip to the country to celebrate the accords.

The Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, were signed in Washington on September 15, 2020 by Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sheikh Abdullah, and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Morocco subsequently agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel later that year. Sudan’s steps towards normalization with Israel as part of the accords framework was halted when Sudan’s government was toppled by a military coup in October 2021.