Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett travelled to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Monday, for the first ever trilateral meeting between himself, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the UAE’s de facto leader Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Egyptian President al-Sisi hosted the meeting, which occurred on Tuesday, and afterwards stated that they discussed security, trade and tourism cooperation as well as the stability of the energy market and food security; according to reports the Prime Minister presented his vision of a regional air defence network, including a laser defence system.
It was also reported that the three leaders spoke about Iran’s nuclear programme and discussed the alleged reports that the U.S. would remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from their terror list as part of the negotiations. On Friday, Prime Minister Bennett and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a joint statement expressing concern over the potential removal, stating that “even now, the IRGC terrorist organization is trying to murder certain Israelis and Americans around the world”, referring to the most recent missile attack near U.S. consulate complex in Iraq. The statement continued by explaining that “unfortunately, there is still determination to sign the nuclear deal with Iran at almost any cost – including saying that the world’s largest terrorist organization is not a terrorist organization. This is too high a price”.
Even though Egypt was the first Arab state to make peace with Israel four decades ago, and the UAE normalised ties with Israel in 2020, Israel’s relationship with both countries is strengthening. In recent weeks Israel announced that direct flights would begin to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in mid-April, increasing tourism to Egypt to help support the struggling Egyptian economy. It has also been reported that Israel and the UAE are in the final stages of agreeing a free trade agreement.
