On August 13, 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates officially announced that they had concluded the Abraham Accords and were working toward full bilateral relations. In the following months, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan followed the UAE’s lead and also normalized ties with the Jewish state.
Now, two years later, is a good opportunity to take an in-depth look at the accomplishments of the Abraham Accords as well as the ripple effect the historic agreements have had across the Middle East.
In particular, we will focus on three major areas that have been most affected by the Abraham Accords: trade & tourism, science & technology and security & diplomacy.
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Trade & Tourism
Since the Abraham Accords, trade between Israel and its new regional partners has surged, with commercial ties between the countries growing exponentially every year.
For the first six months of 2021, trade between Israel and the UAE reached $613.9 million, an 1100% increase from the same period prior to the normalization agreement. For the first quarter of 2022, trade between Israel and the UAE grew to over $1 billion dollars.
With the conclusion of a free trade agreement between Israel and the UAE that would see tariffs removed on 96% percent of products within the next five years, another dramatic boost in trade is expected.
When it comes to Israel and Bahrain, trade is seen as the “nucleus” of the relationship between Jerusalem and Manama. For the first year of normalization between the two Middle Eastern countries, trade grew significantly from zero to $1.2 million.
Trade between Israel and Morocco is also increasing rapidly, with Moroccan officials hoping to eventually reach the level of the UAE’s bilateral relationship with Israel.
For the first year since Israel and Morocco agreed to normalization, direct trade between the two countries rose 84% to $42 million (with Israeli exports to Morocco making up almost 75% of this commerce). With the finalization of a trade agreement in February 2022, Israel-Morocco trade is forecasted to rise to $500 million within five years.
Today marks 2 years since the announcement of the #AbrahamAccords, a historic milestone that ushered in #ANewEra of Israeli-Arab peace prosperity & progress.
Engaging with Israel rather than boycotting Israel creates remarkable opportunities for a brighter future.
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One of the most important sectors of any economy is travel and tourism. Recognizing the financial boom that comes with an influx of tourists, Israel and its regional partners have worked on removing barriers and encouraging travel between their countries.
In the first year of the Abraham Accords, approximately 150,000 Israelis visited the UAE. This flood of tourists was facilitated greatly by the short flight time between the two countries, a mutual visa exemption agreement and the introduction of direct flight routes by both Israeli and Emirati carriers.
The number of tourists is expected to rise after Israel and the UAE signed a ‘historic’ deal in February 2022 that is set to expand the tourism industry in both countries.
Although not as popular as the UAE, travel between Israel and Bahrain has also dramatically increased since the implementation of the Abraham Accords. In 2021, 4,000 Israelis visited the island country, thanks to the easing of travel restrictions as well as the implementation of an ‘unprecedented’ travel corridor between Jerusalem and Manama that removed the need for tourists to enter quarantine upon landing.
With its rich Jewish history, Morocco has also seen a substantial rise in the number of Israeli tourists occur since Rabat normalized relations with the Jewish state.
Specifically, allowing for direct flights between Tel Aviv and Casablanca and the easing of the visa process for Israeli tourists has enabled the number of visitors to the west African nation to grow exponentially. This past year, more than 15,000 Israelis traveled to Morocco for the week-long Passover holiday alone and it is estimated that 200,000 Israelis will visit there by the end of 2022.
Related Reading: Despite Media Claims, Israel-UAE Deal Not Par for the Course
Science & Technology
As Israel is one of the leading innovation hubs of the Middle East, it is unsurprising that a key feature of the Abraham Accords has been the Jewish state’s collaboration with its regional partners on science and technology projects.
Israel is partnering with the UAE on a wide variety of projects, including water research, clean technology, renewable energy, agricultural initiatives, artificial intelligence and space exploration.
Many of these projects are not only beneficial to both countries’ economies but are also necessary for both Israel and the UAE to successfully overcome environmental challenges (such as droughts, rising temperatures and violent storms) together.
Following the UAE’s lead, Bahrain and Morocco are also engaging with Israel on a number of science and technology-driven projects. Both Bahrain and Morocco signed “historic” science and technology agreements with Israel that will lead the way for bilateral collaboration on projects focused on climate technology, energy initiatives, information technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
In addition, Israel’s national water carrier will advise Bahrain on water-related projects and health officials from Jerusalem and Manama will collaborate on issues of concern, including regional diseases and the economics of medicine.
Similarly, the Israeli and Moroccan aviation industries have agreed to collaborate on research and training projects. Moreover, Israeli experts are guiding their Moroccan counterparts on how to use owls as an environmentally friendly method of pest control.
Related Reading: Green Peace: How Israel and Its Neighbors Are Fighting to Save the Environment Together
Security & Diplomacy
In the two years since the announcement of the Abraham Accords, Israel and its regional partners have also strengthened their ties through diplomatic means as well as through coordination on security matters, particularly in the face of belligerent Iranian threats.
As part of the normalization process, both the UAE and Bahrain have opened embassies in Tel Aviv while Israel has reciprocally opened embassies in both of these Gulf countries. As well, both Israel and Morocco have concrete plans to open embassies on each other’s territory in the near future.
Another positive development stemming from the adoption of the Accords was that both the UAE and Sudan repealed their official state boycotts of Israel, opening the door for regional cooperation on shared interests.
In response to the threat of Iranian belligerence in both the Persian Gulf and the wider region, Israel has entered into a number of security arrangements with the Gulf states. These include the exportation of $3 billion in arms in 2021, the deployment of Israeli radars in the UAE as a means of detecting Iranian missiles, the selling of both drones and anti-drone technology to Bahrain as well as the active cooperation between members of Israel’s spy agency, the Mossad, and their Bahraini counterparts.
As well, Israel and Bahrain have agreed to collaborate on ensuring the safe passage of vessels in the Persian Gulf in light of recent attacks by Iran on Israeli ships in the region.
When it comes to bolstering Israel’s security relationship with Morocco over the past two years, there have been a number of positive developments in this arena as well.
In November 2021, Jerusalem and Rabat signed a security agreement that would allow for much greater cooperation (including intelligence sharing). The fruits of this deal have included the visit of the IDF’s Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, to the west African nation and Israel’s participation in an international military exercise hosted by Morocco.
In addition to military collaboration, Israel’s strategic partnership with Morocco also includes cooperation in the fights against terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking as well as an agreement to extradite Israeli criminals who flee the country.
Related Reading: Media, Take Note: It’s Not Israel Vs. Iran, It’s Iran Vs. Most of Middle East
Saudi Arabia: Warmth Without Normalization
Aside from the development of relations between Israel and its new regional partners, another positive outcome of the Abraham Accords has been the gradual warming of relations between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia.
Although there are no immediate plans for normalization, some of the progress that has been made includes Saudi Arabia allowing international flights to and from Israel to fly over Saudi airspace, defense coordination between the two countries in the face of Iranian threats and the opening up of Saudi markets to Israeli businesses and investors.
Without the growing acceptance of Israel in the region by other Muslim countries, it is highly unlikely that Saudi Arabia would have been so receptive to such overtures from the Jewish state.
Related Reading: Saudi Arabia-Israel: Will Secret Dealings Lead To Open Ties?
Normalization is proving to be beneficial to both Israel as well as those states that seek warmer ties with it.
More broadly, the Abraham Accords have catalyzed unprecedented economic growth, the development of cutting-edge technology and strategic coordination that is ushering in a new, hopeful chapter in the tortured history of the Middle East.
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