UAE's first ambassador to Israel meets Benjamin Netanyahu

Mohamed Al Khaja thanks Israeli prime minister for 'warm welcome' to Israel

The UAE's first ambassador to Israel met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

Mohamed Al Khaja, on a three-day trip to Israel, on Monday handed his credentials to the country's President, Reuven Rivlin.

Mr Netanyahu told Mr Al Khaja at the Jerusalem meeting that he was happy to see him and congratulated him on his arrival in Israel, his office said.

"We're changing the Middle East. We're changing the world," Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Al Khaja shared photos on Twitter of the two bumping elbows while wearing coronavirus masks.

He wrote they "discussed bilateral relations, in addition to the prospects for co-operation between our two countries in facing the repercussions from the coronavirus pandemic".

The message, like most of his tweets so far, was shared in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

In only two weeks since the launch of his official Twitter account, Mr Al Khaja has amassed more than 30,000 followers.

Israel's National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat and other senior officials also attended Tuesday's meeting,  which took place after Mr Al Khaja visited the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There he met the ministry's deputy director general Noam Katz, and discussed digital and public diplomacy.

Mr Al Khaja was sworn in to his position on February 15, six months after the UAE and Israel signed the Abraham Accord to establish ties between the two nations.

Since then, business and cultural ties have blossomed.

On Monday Mr Al Khaja arrived at the Israeli presidential residence as an Israeli Defence Forces band played the UAE national anthem.

"The Abrahamic Treaty will remain a shining beacon in human history for all peace-loving people, as one that has created a new reality," Mr Al Khaja said at his welcoming ceremony.