US and UAE sign agreement for enhanced consular privileges and immunities

The United States and the United Arab Emirates signed a consular-privileges-and-immunities agreement on September 12. The agreement aims at providing protection to the American and Emirati consular staff who are serving their citizens in both the countries. According to a statement by the US Department of State, the agreement will help the consular staff to protect the interests of their own citizens.

Read: Donald Trump Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize For His ‘key Role’ In UAE-Israel Agreement

The Israel-UAE deal

This deal was signed after what came as a major development in West Asia last month when Israel and UAE announced that it is establishing full diplomatic relations in a US-brokered deal called the Abraham Accord, with the first-ever flight between the two nations landing in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Both countries have also started discussions to open embassies in each other’s countries. According to the UAE, the deal was inked after Israel agreed to 'immediately stop' West Bank annexation plans, however, Israel says that it has 'suspended' the plans for the deal. With this, UAE became the third Arab country and the first Gulf nation after Egypt and Jordan to establish relations with Israel. 

Read: Bahrain Follows UAE, Inks Peace Deal With Israel: How Middle East Countries Reacted

With this deal just ahead of the US presidential elections, Donald Trump has attempted to claim victory in his foreign policy approach, as he is heavily criticised for having isolated the US from important world groups, under the pretext of America First. US President Donald Trump has also been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for helping broker this peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, nominated Trump after he successfully brokered the deal for the normalisation of ties between the two Middle East nations. White House continues to seek more Arab support for the normalisation of ties with Israel and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who accompanied an Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi for formally finalising UAE-Israel ties, indicated that other Arab countries could soon follow the suit. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo had said that the deal has been a boon to peace and regional stability as it heralds a new era.

Read: Trump Announces Israel-Bahrain Peace Agreement In Less Than A Month Of UAE Deal

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(Image Credits: AP)