Hotel Association President to be Ambassador to UAE
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Sunday, July 25, 2021 at 12:46 pm |
Amir Hayek (Amir Hayek via Twitter)
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Sunday his appointment of Amir Hayek as Israel’s permanent ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Hayek is currently the president of the Israel Hotel Association. He previously headed the Manufacturers Association of Israel and was director-general of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
“Amir Hayek, deeply experienced and knowledgeable in the fields of economy and tourism, is the right person to institutionalize the bridge between Israel and the UAE,” Lapid said. “After the opening of the embassies, the time has come to appoint the first ambassador to the UAE.”
Israel opened its first embassy in the UAE in June.
Lapid Taps Tourism Exec as Israel’s First UAE Ambassador
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced Sunday that Israel Hotel Association president Amir Hayek will be the country’s first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Hayek, a former director-general of what was once the Trade, Industry and Employment Ministry, and former CEO of the Israel Manufacturers Association, is one of the 11 ambassadorial appointments Lapid is allowed to make from outside the Foreign Service. Until now, Eitan Na’eh has served as head of Israel’s mission in Abu Dhabi.
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“Amir Hayek, with rich experience and knowledge in the fields of economics and tourism, is the right person to establish the bridge between Israel and the emirates. After opening the embassy, it was time to appoint the first ambassador to the emirates,” Lapid said.
Hayek said that “It’s a great honor for me to be the first ambassador in the United Arab Emirates and to represent the State of Israel. The UAE is an entire world of joint economic opportunities; it’s an important and exciting mission, and we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The UAE’s embassy in Tel Aviv opened a week and a half ago, in the presence of President Isaac Herzog and Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja.
Three weeks ago, Lapid inaugurated the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi, declaring, “Israel wants peace with its neighbors – all its neighbors. We aren’t going anywhere. The Middle East is our home. We are here to stay, and we call on all the countries of the region to recognize that and come to talk with us.”
Amir Hayek appointed Israel’s first UAE envoy as pipeline deal stalls
Amir Hayek was appointed as Israel’s first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday just as a major agreement about a crude oil pipeline through Israel to Europe was temporarily frozen on environmental grounds.
Hayek replaces Eitan Na’eh , who had been the acting envoy. Hayek is considered to be a political appointment.
Israel and the UAE normalized ties only last year under the rubric of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by former US president Donald Trump. In it, there was a particularly strong emphasis on the economic benefits to both countries.
One of the cornerstone agreements was a deal by which the UAE would transport crude oil to Europe through the Israeli business Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC), a deal that could be worth more than $700 million.
The deal has included an understanding with MED-RED Land Bridge, an Abu Dhabi-based company with Israeli and Emirati owners.
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The UAE would make use of an already existing pipeline that connects the city of Eilat on the Red Sea with Ashkelon along the southern Mediterranean coast, but would require an expansion of the facilities, including storage tankers.
On Sunday, the Environment Ministry rejected a risk assessment conducted by EAPC and froze the project pending a government hearing on the continuation of the plan.
Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg instructed her office to notify the company of the decision not to deal with any further documents relating to the plan until such a hearing was held.
Should the government agree to continue the deal, the ministry told EAPC, it would only accept documents and studies that met the requested professional standard.
The Foreign Ministry made no mention of the possible pending crisis with the UAE when it announced Hayek’s appointment.
Hayek “has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the fields of economics and tourism” and as such he “is the right man to institutionalize the bridge between Israel and the Emirates,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday.
Lapid recalled that he had helped inaugurate the first-ever Israeli embassy in the Emirates in June. The UAE, in turn, opened its first-ever embassy in Tel Aviv.
“It was time to appoint the first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates,” Lapid said.
Hayek is the president of the Israel Hotel Association and has served as director-general of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel. He has also served as director-general of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
Reuters contributed to this report.