Israeli banks to lead business delegations visiting UAE on Sept

Israel’s two biggest banks will lead delegations traveling to the UAE on Sept. 8 and 14 to establish economic relations and cooperation.

The first delegation to be led by Bank Hapoalim will visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai to meet government and trade officials, and heads of the largest banks in the UAE.

Hapoalim CEO Dov Kotler said the visits would "establish economic relations and cooperation" that would be financially beneficial to both countries.

Kotler added there was an “immediate bilateral desire” to establish strong economic ties.

The second delegation would be led by the chairman and CEO of Bank Leumi, hoping to jumpstart cooperation in technology, finance, health, tourism, and agriculture.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender, would open discussions with Hapoalim and Leumi.

The two countries also intend to set up a joint committee to cooperate on financial services.

The visits would be the first since the two countries announced in August that they would normalize diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship.