Photo Credit: AFP

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has inaugurated its embassy in Israel, less than a year after the two countries announced they would establish formal diplomatic relations.

The embassy is situated in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building and its opening on Wednesday followed the inauguration of Israel’s embassy in the UAE last month.

At the ceremony, attended by new Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Emirati Ambassador Mohamed al-Khaja called the embassy opening “an important milestone in the growing relationship between our two countries”.

“The UAE and Israel are both innovative nations, we can harness this creativity to work towards a more prosperous and sustainable future for our countries and our region,” he said.

Herzog called for the “historic agreement” with the UAE to be “extended to other nations seeking peace with Israel”.

Israel and the UAE have signed a raft of deals — ranging from tourism to aviation to financial services — since normalising ties as part of the so-called Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump’s administration.

Wednesday’s ceremony, held in the lobby of the stock exchange building two floors below the embassy, came after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made a landmark visit to the UAE last month, opening an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.