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| Arabia |
| Israel, UAE In Talks To Open Liaison Office |
| 2004-06-20 |
| An Israeli newspaper said on Sunday, June 20, that Tel Aviv has been holding "advanced talks" with officials from the United Arab Emirates to open a liaison office in the country, a matter immediately dismissed by a UAE source as an "Israeli propaganda". Quoting diplomatic sources, Haaretz said Israeli officials have for months been holding talks with UAE representatives on opening a quasi-diplomatic office in the capital Abu Dhabi to represent Israeli interests. The office would not be a full diplomatic representation, but rather a center similar to the one already existing in Qatar, said the Israeli daily. According to the Israeli sources, Abu Dhabi will agree to "a quiet presence of Israeli diplomats on site who would officially be the representatives of a foreign company." Israeli army radio said that negotiations involving lawyers were already at an advanced stage and were now concentrating on issues such as security and location Israel may dispatch a special envoy with a message from Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to update the UAE leadership on its controversial disengagement plan. An Emirati source knocked down the story as "Israeli propaganda". Whether it’s true or not. They don’t want to be swarmed by indignant wahhabis... "Israel is trying to gain some assets for the so-called Gaza separation plan," the source, who asked not to be named, told Agence France-Presse. Last September, the Israeli flag for the first time ever flapped over the Dubai-based International Convention Center as the emirate hosted the annual joint meeting of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Gulf state has been at pains to stress that Israel attended the meeting at the invitation of the World Bank and IMF, not the UAE government. |
| Posted by:Fred |