Twice in two years
Above, a sign: "products from Israel". In this grocery store, the Abraham Accords are bearing fruit. Two years after the signing of these historic agreements between Israel, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, the normalization of diplomatic relations has paved the way for increasingly visible and dense trade. Trade routes are spreading out and now intersect with those of tourism and scientific cooperation...
Flourishing collaborations in tech and renewable energies
The technology sector is the prime beneficiary of this new situation. The Jerusalem-based investment platform "Our Crowd" will shortly be opening an A.I. center in Abu Dhabi. The Israeli startup's move to the Emirates is part of an innovation program to which the government has allocated a $545 million budget, as well as cooperation with companies specializing in the climate change sector.
The cooperation also applies to companies specializing in the climate change sector. In Morocco, Gaïa Energy has teamed up with Israeli company H2PRO, planning, in the words of Gaia's president, "To combine the power of the assets developed by Gaia with H2PRO's green hydrogen production technology, to become the leaders in green hydrogen production in Africa". With one earth and one planetary challenge, the Abraham Accords bring entrepreneurs together to work on solutions. A true alliance for the posterity of nations!
Trade that doubles in size
Let's widen the focus to geopolitics. Muhammed Al-Khaja, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Israel, believes that his country is well on the way to becoming one of Israel's five biggest partners. The abolition of customs barriers between the two countries for 96% of trade, coupled with Dubai Ports World's latest declaration on the establishment of a direct shipping line between the two countries, all point in this direction. It should be remembered that various goods flows are already increasingly transiting from one port to the other. The Barakat Group, the Emirates' leading importer of fresh fruit and vegetables, offers Israeli products to the hotels and local markets it supplies.
And it's only a short step from fruit platters to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s". Rough diamonds account for 55% of Israeli imports and herald a diversification of transactions. Total trade between the Emirates and Israel is expected to exceed $700 million by the end of 2021. Morocco is not to be outdone. Since the resumption of diplomatic relations, trade between the two countries has risen by 94% to $131 million in February 2022. "Over the past year, a love story has unfolded on both sides, in every respect: economic, cultural, tourist..." confides David Ouaknine Kenan, President of the Marrakech Jewish Association, to journalist Sami Boukhelifa, in a voice full of emotion. The tourism and trade figures prove him right.
Cultural and religious openness
As multi-sector relations developed, so did religious tolerance. Life for Jewish and Christian communities has been improved by the Abraham Accords in the signatory Muslim countries. In a popular market in the heart of Manama, the newly renovated ancestral synagogue celebrated Shabbat for the first time in 74 years. In the Emirates, the first public Jewish kindergarten was inaugurated. Dubai residents can now register their children at "Mini Miracles". Situated 400 metres from the Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque, this establishment teaches both Hebrew and Arabic to the new generation. This educational project fits in perfectly with the vision of a "cosmopolitan Middle East" advocated by Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of International Cooperation, during the presentation of the 2020 World Expo*. Middle Eastern cosmopolitanism can be seen, for example, in the Al Wasl dome at the center of the exhibition. This imposing, crown-like monument features a giant 360-degree display screen. Its name means "connection", and in fact, 192 country pavilions on site surround this beating heart.
From one shore to the other... Building bridges
What influence have the Abraham Accords had on the rest of the Mediterranean basin? Even for non-signatory countries, it seems that the Abraham Accords are also an opportunity to develop exchanges with the Hebrew State. In Saudi Arabia, the participation of an Israeli athlete in the Neom triathlon, coupled with the recent opening of airspace between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, reflects the gentle rapprochement of these two regional powers. In Jordan, the green/blue agreement could prove decisive. The Hashemite kingdom suffers from a chronic water shortage, while the Hebrew state is seeking to develop photovoltaic energy. In Lebanon, access to less carbon-intensive energy forms the outline of agreements on the delimitation of maritime borders. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the terrorist movement Hezbollah, recognized for the first time the physical border separating his state from that of Israel. The gas fields in the Mediterranean are well worth political realism ! France, through its subsidiary Total, played an eminent role in this agreement.
On the Turkish side - and still in the spirit of a general easing of tensions - one can mentions the visit of Foreign Minister Melvut Çavusoglu to Israel and then to the West Bank. This auspicious diplomatic trip preceded Erdogan's aside with Yair Lapid at the annual meeting of the United Nations, followed by the discussion of a new civil aviation agreement after 15 years of airline disruption.
In conclusion: the return of the Greater Middle East?
In 2001, in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, George Bush Junior and the Group of Eight outlined a plan to restructure the Middle East. Their official aim was to initiate cultural and political change in order to prevent future acts of terrorism, and the advent of a “knowledge society” was to lead to the implementation of a democratization program. Although this idea initially came to nothing, we can only hope that the countries of the Peoples of Abraham will now join forces to build a green and blue future !
Sources:
https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/grand-reportage/20210401-de-duba%C3%AF-%C3%A0-bahre%C3%AFn-la-normalisation-avec-isra%C3%ABl-vue-du-golfe
https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/reportage-international/20211210-maroc-isra%C3%ABl-un-an-apr%C3%A8s-la-normalisation-les-espoirs-des-juifs-isra%C3%A9liens-d-origine-marocaineh
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/07/07/a-new-web-of-arab-railways-could-transform-the-middle-east
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/09/22/trade-and-security-ties-are-knitting-israel-into-its-region
https://www.economist.com/business/2021/01/25/emirati-and-israeli-bosses-cannot-wait-to-do-business
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/10/28/israel-liban-le-pragmatisme-du-hezbollah-dans-le-dossier-maritime_6147700_3210.html
www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/le-club-des-correspondants/comment-est-percu-au-liban-et-en-israel-l-accord-historique-delimitant-leur-frontiere-maritime_5413732.html
https://www.i24news.tv/fr/actu/israel/diplomatie-defense/1663766552-yair-lapid-rencontre-recep-erdogan-a-new-york-une-premiere-depuis-2008
https://israelvalley.com/2022/10/06/les-echanges-commerciaux-entre-israel-et-les-emirats-diamants/
https://aujourdhui.ma/economie/gaia-energy-sallie-a-lisraelien-h2pro
https://www.challenges.fr/societe/a-bahrein-la-petite-communaute-juive-revit-sa-foi-au-grand-jour_780526
https://www.wam.ae/fr/details/1395302977073
https://www.sudouest.fr/sport/course-pedestre/triathlon/un-athlete-israelien-en-competition-en-arabie-saoudite-pour-la-premiere-fois-12800769.php
https://atalayar.com/fr/content/la-turquie-affirme-que-le-rapprochement-avec-israel-profitera-aux-palestiniens
https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/lArabie-saoudite-Israel-poursuit-normalisation-Moyen-Orient-2022-07-15-1201225054
https://fr.timesofisrael.com/deux-societes-israeliennes-se-rallient-au-programme-dinnovation-dabou-dhabi/
