Dubai company to work on direct trade route between UAE and Israel

Sep 16, 2020

A multinational logistics company in the United Arab Emirates said it is working on establishing trade ties between the Gulf state and Israel.

DP World, based in Dubai, said it signed memorandums of understanding with the Israeli company DoverTower. The firm’s chairman and CEO said direct trade between Israel and the UAE will help economic activity in the Middle East.

“DP World’s mission is to enable global trade — our work to build trade routes between the UAE, Israel and beyond will help our customers to do business in the region more easily and efficiently,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said in a press release.

On Tuesday, the UAE and Israel officially agreed to establish full relations during a White House ceremony. Bahrain also did the same. The move paved the way for the UAE and Israel, whose relations have been improving for years, to formally build economic ties.

The memorandums signed by DP World and DoverTower specify that DP World will assess the possibility of a direct trading route between Eilat on Israel’s Red Sea coast and Jebel Ali in Dubai. Shlomi Fogel, the owner of DoverTower, is also co-owner of the Port of Eilat. Such memorandums are not legally binding but are a way of formally declaring intentions.