UAE, Israel Start Talks on Energy Cooperation as Ties Normalize

(Bloomberg) --

Israel and the United Arab Emirates held talks to discuss cooperation in the oil and gas sector, months after the two nations agreed to normalize ties.

OPEC’s third-largest oil producer and Israel held their first natural gas and petroleum working group meeting, UAE’s state-run WAM news agency reported on Thursday.

The countries discussed ways to develop bilateral relations and cooperation in energy, petroleum and natural gas, WAM said. The meeting included representatives from the countries’ energy ministries as well as from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Since signing the peace agreement earlier this year, UAE and Israel have discussed establishing embassies, starting direct flights and business deals. The countries have also started talks over an oil pipeline linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, whose operations Israeli officials treat as top secret.

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