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Inaugurating embassy in UAE, Israel tells region: “We’re here to stay”

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Reuters

Israel’s new foreign minister inaugurated its embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and offered an olive branch to other former adversaries, saying: “We’re here to stay.”

Yair Lapid’s two-day visit is the first to the Gulf state by an Israeli cabinet minister since the countries established ties last year. He was due to sign a bilateral agreement on economic cooperation and open an Israeli consulate in Dubai on Wednesday.

The trip is also an opportunity for the two-week-old Israeli government of Naftali Bennett, a nationalist who heads an improbable cross-partisan coalition, to make diplomatic inroads despite long-stymied talks with the Palestinians.

“Israel wants peace with its neighbours – with all its neighbours. We aren’t going anywhere. The Middle East is our home,” Lapid said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Abu Dhabi high-rise office serving as a temporary embassy.

“We’re here to stay. We call on all the countries of the region to recognise that and to come to talk to us,” he said.

Brought together by shared worries about Iran and hopes for commercial boons, the UAE and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel last year under so-called “Abraham Accords” crafted by the administration of then U.S.-President Donald Trump. Sudan and Morocco have since also moved to establish ties with Israel.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, welcoming Lapid’s visit, said Washington “will continue to work with Israel and the UAE as we strengthen all aspects of our partnerships and work to create a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous future for all the peoples of the Middle East”, the State Department said.

The regional rapprochement was deplored by the Palestinians, who want their demands for statehood free of Israeli occupation addressed first.

President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the accords as “an illusion” and asserted that colonial powers had “implant(ed) Israel as a foreign body in this region in order to fragment it and keep it weak,” according to a report on Tuesday by the official Palestinian news service WAFA.

Tuesday’s agreement will be the 12th between Israel and the UAE, Lior Haiat, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said. Lapid is also set to visit the site of Expo 2020 Dubai, a world fair opening in October where Israel has built a pavilion.

Lapid’s plane transited through Saudi airspace. Riyadh, although not having normalised relations with Israel, last year opened its skies to Israel-UAE flights.

The UAE formally opened its embassy in Israel, temporarily located in the Tel Aviv stock exchange, this month.

Israel’s Abu Dhabi embassy still has only three diplomats and a head of mission, Eitan Na’eh, who has yet to be confirmed as full ambassador. The consulate in Dubai is similarly located in temporary premises.

Lapid was conciliatory toward former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose attempts to organise a trip to the UAE while in office were scotched by COVID-19 restrictions and who has sought to cast his ouster by Bennett as illegitimate.

Thanking Netanyahu as “the architect of the Abraham Accords”, Lapid said: “This moment is his, no less than it is ours.”

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IEA should respond to Pakistan’s security concerns with concrete actions: Andrabi

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Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi says both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sadyr Japarov, the President of Kyrgyzstan, who visited Islamabad on Thursday, expressed their mutual commitment to a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with a sustainable future for the Afghan people.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Andrabi stated that both sides agreed that the Islamic Emirate must fulfill its obligations toward the international community and take concrete steps against terrorist groups to address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns.

This comes while the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly emphasized that no terrorist groups operate from Afghan territory and that it will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country.

The Islamic Emirate has also stated that Pakistan’s security concerns are an internal issue of that country, and Pakistan itself must take measures to prevent any security incidents.

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Malaysia’s PM calls peaceful solution to Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions

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Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has voiced deep concern over escalating tensions between the Afghanistan–Pakistan during a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Anwar said he emphasized Malaysia’s concerns regarding regional stability and urged all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomatic engagement to prevent further escalation.

His remarks follow media reports indicating heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan after a series of attacks in October.

During the call, the two leaders also exchanged views on several aspects of Malaysia–Pakistan bilateral relations.

Anwar also briefed Sharif on the ongoing flood situation in Malaysia and similar challenges facing neighboring countries, including Indonesia and Thailand.

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Afghanistan makes major strides in cutting drug trafficking, says Putin

Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin says Afghanistan has taken “active and effective” steps to curb drug trafficking, noting a significant drop in opium production across the country. He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with India Today during his India trip, highlighting what he described as “visible progress” in Afghanistan’s internal security efforts.

Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders. He added that Afghanistan has also made important advancements in the fight against terrorism.

Responding to a question about why Russia officially recognized the Islamic Emirate, the Russian president said Afghanistan had been engulfed in civil conflict for many years, but the current authorities now hold control over the country. “This is the reality, and it must be acknowledged,” Putin emphasized.

He further noted that maintaining contact with Afghanistan’s leadership is crucial for shaping events inside the country. “If you want influence, you must engage with the people in charge — and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said.

Putin’s remarks come as several regional powers continue to recalibrate their diplomatic strategies toward Afghanistan, focusing on stability, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation.

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