Politics

UAE Officially Ends Boycott On Israel Following Peace Deal

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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The United Arab Emirates formally ended its boycott against Israeli goods on Saturday, roughly a week after signing a U.S.-brokered peace deal with the country, the Associated Press reported.

UAE leadership released the decree allowing trade between the two nations on Saturday, with it also laying down a process for integrating their economies, the AP reported.

President Donald trump announced the U.S. had brokered the UAE-Israel peace deal on August 13, saying it was a major step toward peace in the Middle East.

UAE and Israel are among the most advanced nations in the Middle East, with the UAE’s rich supply of oil springing up metropolises like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Israel playing home to Western-style tech companies and other advanced trades.

Israeli and United Arab Emirates flags line a road in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan express their deep appreciation to President Trump for his dedication to peace in the region and to the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to achieve it,” Israel and the UAE said in a statement announcing the initial peace deal. (RELATED: US Universities Took $600 Million Tied To Islamic Nations While Forming Grade School Curricula)

Trump has touted his recent successes in the Middle East as a central part of his 2020 campaign pitch. In addition to the peace deal, the U.S. announced major troop withdrawals from Iraq on Friday and the continued withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in accordance with the peace deal signed with the Taliban in February.

The exact progress on the Afghanistan withdrawal is unclear, however. The initial deal called for all troops to leave by mid-November, but there are still 8,600 troops in the region as of the last official tally. Trump now says the U.S. will reduce to roughly 4,000 by Election Day.

There are currently 8,600 troops in Afghanistan and 5,200 in Iraq.