US, UAE, Bahrain and Israel vow to expand Abraham Accords in joint security meeting

Multilateral meeting also focuses on enhanced regional co-operation on climate change

The 2020 Abraham Accords led to the UAE and Bahrain signing their first ever agreements with Israel. EPA

National security advisers from the UAE, Bahrain, the US and Israel promised enhanced regional integration and co-operation after multilateral talks on Thursday, which focused on security and the climate crisis.

“The four counterparts looked forward to further deepening and expanding the progress achieved since the signing of the Abraham Accords,” a joint statement released by the White House said.

The 2020 Abraham Accords led to the UAE and Bahrain signing their first ever agreements with Israel. Morocco and Sudan followed suit.

The White House vowed to expand the accords in its National Security Strategy released last year.

Thursday's multilateral talks included discussions about utilising enhanced regional co-operation with Israel to boost food and water security, clean energy, emerging technologies and trade relations, Wam reported.

The online meeting brought together Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, UAE National Security Adviser, with his counterparts Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Jake Sullivan of the US and Tzachi Hanegbi of Israel.

They agreed to stay “in regular contact” to work on expanding participation to new partners and to co-ordinate on shared interests and challenges, the joint statement said.

Discussions centred particularly on the climate crisis and “welcomed the UAE's leadership in hosting Cop28 later this year”.

The meeting came on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the UAE is previewing its promises to put climate front and centre when it hosts the Cop28 conference in November and December 2023.

Majid Al Suwaidi, general director of Cop28, on Wednesday urged world leaders at the Davos conference to “get back on track” in achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement's climate goals.

“We’re saying at the Cop of the Emirates, we need to take huge leaps forward because we need to get back on track,” said Mr Al Suwaidi.

He added that the UAE is prioritising efforts to bring together governments, the private sector, civil society and non-state actors in a bid to “deliver really big results”.

Day Three of The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023

Lawrence Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, speaks during a panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Bloomberg

Updated: January 19, 2023, 4:05 PM