Celebrating One-Year Anniversary of the Abraham Accords

From Left: Ambassador of Bahrain, Ambassador of UAE, and Ambassador of U.S. to the United Nations

(New York – September 14, 2021) Yesterday, Israel's Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan, the United Arab Emirates' Ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh, Bahrain’s Ambassador to the UN Jamal Alrowaiei, Morocco’s Ambassador to the UN Omar Hilale, and the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressed an event celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Abraham Accords. The event, co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco to the United Nations took place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan. Ambassadors to the UN from all over the world and leaders of key Jewish organizations were in attendance. The Abraham Accords were signed by Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain at the White House on September 15, 2020. Morocco resumed relations with Israel in December 2020. In his remarks, Ambassador Erdan said, “Our peoples are learning each other’s languages and realizing how much the sons of Abraham truly have in common, as they share a kosher meal in Manama, Marrakech or Dubai. Our universities are establishing exchange programs so that the next generation of Israelis, Moroccans, Bahrainis and Emiratis can study alongside one another and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, together. Every day we hear of a new shared business venture. Sometimes it is Israelis growing avocados in Morocco, and other times it is Emiratis purchasing a substantial stake in one of Israel’s most important gas fields, Tamar. The examples are endless, as are the opportunities.” In her remarks, Ambassador Nusseibeh said, “We have only just begun, I think, to explore the opportunity for these accords in our wider region. Of course, as the world continues to recover from the pandemic, the ties between all of our countries will continue to deepen and grow in ways that benefit not just the people of our countries but the entire Middle East region." Ambassador Alrowaiei said, “We, in Bahrain, seek to advance the values of co-existence, tolerance and harmony for the benefit of humanity. Indeed, as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all reminded that we must put aside our differences and work together, in a spirit of mutual respect and trust, to overcome our shared challenges – we are all in this together.” Ambassador Hilale said, “Our region is weary of war. Our region has suffered from all kinds of extremism, terrorism and rejection of the other. Our region needs real and warm peace. We need peace in hearts and minds. We need peace as a strategic objective and as a horizon for us and also for future generations.” In her remarks, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield commented “the United States is committed to strengthening and expanding on these agreements…Peace begets peace and friendships beget relationships.”