Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli and Emirati counterparts on the normalisation of relations between those nations.

We welcome the announcement of an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is an historic step which sees the normalisation of relations between two great friends of the UK. The Foreign Secretary travelled to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 August, where he met with the Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Netanyahu. We welcome both the decision to normalise relations, as well as the suspension of plans for annexation - a move the UK has opposed as it would have been counterproductive to securing peace in the region. On his return, the Foreign Secretary spoke to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, to offer congratulations on the agreement with Israel. Sheikh bin Zayed emphasised his conviction that the deal was an opportunity to renew efforts toward peace in the Middle East. We will continue to work together in support of this goal.