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Jair Lapid has been the Israeli foreign minister for a few days
Photo: ATEF SAFADI / EPA
Jair Lapid plans to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as Israel's first foreign minister in the coming week.
The chairman of the Israeli Future Party will arrive on a two-day visit to the Gulf state, said Lapid's office.
He will be the guest of his colleague Abdullah bin Sajid.
He will also inaugurate the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate general in Dubai.
"The ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates represent an important relationship, the fruits of which are enjoyed not only by the citizens of both countries, but also by the entire Middle East," the State Department said in a statement.
Lapid, chairman of the Future Party, has been Israeli foreign minister for a few days.
For the first time in twelve years, a government was formed without the right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Part of the new coalition of eight parties is the right-wing Jamina party of ex-Defense Minister Naftali Bennett.
He is initially head of government, Lapid is to replace him in two years.
For the first time, an Arab party is also part of the Israeli government.
Agreement with Bahrain too
Israel signed diplomatic relations agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in Washington in September last year.
Previously, only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, had diplomatic relations with Israel.
The two Gulf states abandoned the decades-long line of Arab states to refuse relations with Israel until the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved.
In return, Israel announced that it would suspend the annexation of areas in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians claim for their own state.
After decades of conflict with the Palestinians, the State of Israel remains unpopular or hated in many countries in the Arab world.
The Gulf monarchies in particular, including Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, now see Iran as the greatest threat to the region.
Israel is therefore seen in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh as a possible partner in the attempt to reduce Iran's influence in the Middle East.
lau / dpa / AP
