Bennett offered his condolences to the UAE over the death of the former President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died on May 13, commending his role in cementing cooperation and peace with the rest of the world.

He also congratulated Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on his presidency and reaffirmed that Israel looked forward to expanding cooperation with the UAE over the coming phase “for the benefit and prosperity of both peoples”, according to WAM.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his appreciation over the prime minister’s wishes of prosperity and development for the UAE.

The UAE and Israel signed a normalization agreement in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords. Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco also normalized ties with Israel in the framework of the accords.

Bennett's Abu Dhabi visit, his third in recent months, had not previously been announced.