First ship carrying goods from UAE docks at Israel's Haifa port

The first ship carrying goods from the UAE docked at Israel's Haifa port on Monday.

The ship, MSC Paris, carried iron as well as firefighting, cleaning and electronic equipment to Israel's largest port. The Haifa port said the ship will take cargo from the UAE to Israel on a weekly basis. The two countries signed a normalisation agreement at the White House on September 15.

Israeli officials estimate that the two-way trade between the UAE and Israel will reach $4 billion during the first year of normalisation of ties.

The cargo had departed from the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai and reached Haifa after a direct voyage of about 15 days.

"This is very exciting," said Eshel Armony, chairman of the board at Haifa port. "This is a new era in the Middle East, and I'm sure this will bring more and more trade," he said.

Earlier today, his Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held discussions over the phone and the talk revolved around boosting the bilateral relationship between the two countries, with a focus on the regional cooperation.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com