UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) and Israel announced a historic peace accord recently that stipulates normalising bilateral relations between the two countries.
This was mainly about keeping critical doors open while advancing the cause of regional peace and stability, especially as the UAE saw both a threat to peace and an opportunity within the context of fast-changing regional and global dynamics.
Though this is a significant development that comes at a crucial time for the region, the normalisation of relations with Israel is by no means unusual. Many countries, including Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members, have developed relations with Israel over the past decades.
At present, 29 out of the 57 member states of the OIC have established diplomatic relations with Israel. The UAE has welcomed the accord as we look to the future and have sought to ensure the greatest benefit to the region and its peoples.
The courageous move by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, reflects the pragmatism we so desperately need in a region that has not known peace for the past decades.
Our larger hope is that it will pave the way for greater cooperation, and less tensions among peoples across the region. Sadly, we have all come to realise that the boycott of the past years did not fulfil the aspirations of the Arab peoples in general and the Palestinian people in particular.
We, therefore, believe in the necessity of breaking the deadlock in the political process and to promote a two-state solution, where Palestine and Israel live side by side in understanding, peace and prosperity.
Since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, my country has long been a strong and fierce advocate of the Palestinian people and their right to dignity and self-determination, and while we unfortunately cannot realise the Palestinian ambitions for them, we believe this accord provides the space and the time in which to build a just and fair settlement.
The UAE-Israel peace accord is an opportunity for Israel, the Palestinians, the region and the international community to build on this historic peace achievement in the region. Paradoxically, it was the pressure exerted by Israel to annex more Palestinian territories that had largely contributed to the concluding of the accord as the UAE realised that this option would have disappeared altogether forever had Israel annexed more Palestinian lands.
The UAE believes that the two-state solution is the only viable solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is also important for me to highlight that halting annexation of the West Bank is a major achievement, especially as it provides the space and time for Israel and the Palestinians, with the support of the international community, to come to a just and lasting settlement.
We are encouraged that the countries' reactions to this accord are mostly positive, believing in its importance and contribution to ensuring the security and stability of the region, especially as the accord begins to address the threat to the chances of a two-state solution.
However, in the face of organised campaigns that have work hard to disrupt the positive and optimistic attributes of this historic accord, the UAE affirms that establishing any bilateral relations is the sovereign right of states, and that the UAE has the right to initiate diplomatic relations with Israel or any other country according to its sovereign discretion and based on its national interests.
UAE also affirms that it strongly believes in the rights of the Palestinian people, and that the UAE and its leaders have a long-standing commitment to supporting the Palestinian people.
Our voting record and statements in the United Nations and in regional and international forums proves this, as does our provision of humanitarian and development aid to the Palestinian people and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Our ambition is a more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous Middle East, for both ourselves and all our neighbours in the region.
The author is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times