The event entitled „The Abraham Accords – Achievements and the Way Forward” took place on 28 November 2022, organized by the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) along with the Embassy of the State of Israel in Hungary on the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the Abraham Accords Declaration. The attendees were H.E. Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, Ambassador Extraordinary, and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel in Hungary, H.E. Karima Kabbaj, Ambassador Extraordinary, Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Morocco in Hungary and H.E. Saud Hamad Al-Shamsi, Ambassador Extraordinary, Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates in Budapest. The event was moderated by Mr. Tamás Péter Baranyi, IFAT’s Deputy Director for Strategy.
After the opening remarks made by Yacov Hadas-Handelsman and Tamás Péter Baranyi, the subject of the first question of the panel was assessing the influence of the Abraham Accords on the signatory states. Ambassador Al Shamsi initiated the panel by emphasizing the importance of this bilateral endeavor to the UAE and its contribution to the national interests of his country. The Accords paved the way for new opportunities for discussions and negotiations with Israel that were not feasible before. On the other hand, Ambassador Kabbaj underlined the relation between the long history of the Jewish diaspora of Morocco and its impact on the resumption of relations with Israel. Ambassador Hadas-Handelsman, from his side, confirmed the importance of such a step, especially that many Arab countries have become active players in the international system, describing this step as a win-win game for all parties.
The subject of the second question was the encountered difficulties and skepticism from other international actors following the signing of the Abraham Accords. Mr. Al Shamsi explained that the decision of signing the Abraham Accords was made by the UAE describing it as a step in the right direction, which brought positive results. From her side, Ms. Kabbaj explained that Morocco’s role is not to change the position of the states who are ideologically against the Accords, emphasizing that the resumption of relations with Israel does not change the position of the kingdom regarding the right of the Palestinians to live in an independent country. Mr. Hadas-Handelsman, on the other hand, compared the current situation with the Abraham accords to the Egypt–Israel peace treaty describing the bilateral benefits between these two countries as a success despite the different opinions.
The subject of the third question of the panel was the multidimensional impact of the Abraham Accords on different areas. Ambassador Al Shamsi explained that the results in this subject are numerous and touch different areas. The bilateral trade between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was 1.6bn USD for the first year, and 2.5bn USD since the signing. Several projects were also launched in Morocco in cooperation with Israel in the areas of education, civil society, agriculture and business sector – Ambassador Karima Kabbaj has explained.
Photos by: Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT)