Israel and Gulf States Are Going Public With Their Relationship - Bloomberg

Israel and Gulf States Are Going Public With Their Relationship - Bloomberg:

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf still don’t formally recognize Israel, and most have nominally maintained an economic boycott against it since before it was even a country. Even so, the business ties and warming diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and its neighbors in the Gulf have been an open secret for years.

Those ties will be unveiled with fanfare next October when Israel opens its pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ largest city. Participating is like setting up an embassy that will last only six months: Close coordination between Israel and its host will be required on myriad and mundane tasks, including hiring builders and planning ancillary events. It may seem like a substance-free event, but Israel’s presence among the more than 190 other countries is a clear sign of the Middle East’s changing geopolitical picture.

Normalizing relations with Arab countries has been a priority for Israel since at least 1979, when Egypt and Israel signed a landmark peace treaty following the Camp David Accords. In October 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made international headlines with his visit to Oman, a small country with strong links across the Gulf and past relations with Israel. Participating in the fair “reflects Israel’s growing position not only in the world but also in the region,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement.