UAE: NO TIES WITH ISRAEL BEFORE PEACE DEAL
Abu Dhabi, 17 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/19 January 2014 (MINA) –The UAE, host of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), is fully capable of distinguishing between its international commitments and its refusal to normalise ties with Israel, a top official said on Saturday.
The participation of Israeli minister Silvan Shalom in the annual Irena General Assembly has led to “another smear campaign” against the UAE, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, wrote on his Twitter account, Gulf News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“The UAE has been able, through a delicate balance, to differentiate between Israel’s membership in Irena and the normalisation of bilateral ties [with Tel Aviv} which Israel has been seeking,” he tweeted, adding the UAE “will not rush into a free normalisation with Israel, like some countries did.”
As for the UAE, which has no diplomatic relations with the occupying force, it is clear; there is no bilateral normalisation of ties with Israel outside the framework of the peace process and the two-state solution, he said.
Gargash attributed the criticism to a smear campaign, “instigated by those who hold resentment and hostility towards the UAE, those who are perturbed by its success, its leading regional and international role, and its pioneering Arab growth experience.”
“Most people with malicious intentions do not really care about Israel’s participation in Irena’s deliberations, but they are motivated by hatred, even if they replace the rhetoric of their attack with another,” he said.
Israel’s energy minister will lead an official Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi on Friday, the first such visit to the United Arab Emirates since the suspected Israeli assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai in 2010.
Energy Minister Silvan Shalom is set to attend the January 20-22 World Future Energy Summit accompanied by two advisers, Foreign Ministry officials and a number of representatives from the private sector, his media adviser said.
It is the first time Israel has sent a minister to a meeting of IRENA since its foundation in 2009.
Israel’s relations with the UAE have been clouded by the January 2010 death in a Dubai hotel of Hamas military commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh in what investigators believe was an assassination carried out by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
The fourth session of the Irena Assembly, Irena’s supreme governing body, started yesterday and will be followed by the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), the International Water Summit (IWS) 2014, and EcoWASTE 2014, which together form Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2014).
During its two-day meeting, the IRENA general assembly is to discuss a draft road map for achieving a 36 percent share for renewables in the world energy mix by 2030.
The UAE is proud to be the headquarters of Irena, the minister said, adding that other than Japan, Kenya, and the UAE, international organisations don’t have headquarters outside the Western world.
Sources told Gulf News the Israeli minister’s visit is solely to attend the Irena conference and doesn’t signal any change in the UAE position with regard to the Middle East conflict.
Last week, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, told the BBC there will be no ties with Israel whatsoever before a comprehensive peace agreement is signed.(T/P02/E1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
