ABRAHAM
ACCORDS – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Three years of the
Abraham Accords
What's
in the news?
●
This week marks an important milestone for
West Asia and North Africa: three years since the signing of the Abraham
Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, under
the auspices of the U.S. government.
Key
takeaways:
●
The agreement between Israel, Bahrain and
the UAE has improved not just regional ties but has also brought better
opportunities for Indians.
What
are Abraham accords?
●
Brokered by the USA, the Abraham Accord (2020)
is a normalization agreement between the
UAE and Israel to establish formal diplomatic relations.
●
The accord was later joined by Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco and in
exchange Israel would suspend its plans to annex parts of the occupied West
Bank.
●
With this accord, UAE becomes the third Arab nation to recognize Israel after Egypt
(in 1979) and Jordan (1994).
Significance
of Abraham accords:
1.
Stable West Asia:
●
Decision to promote a stable future for
West Asia.
●
The Abraham Accord agreements bring people
together, despite differences in language, religious beliefs, cultures, and
more.
2. Increasing trade relations:
●
Trade
between Israel and other West Asian countries increased by 74% between 2021 and
2022.
●
Tourism,
mostly non-existent in the past, has skyrocketed. In 2021, visits from Israel
to the UAE increased by 172%.
3. Energy cooperation:
●
The Prosperity Green & Blue agreement
between Israel, the UAE, and Jordan determined that a solar field to supply 600
megawatts of electricity to Israel and a desalination plant in Israel would
deliver 200 million cubic meters of water to Jordan.
4. Benefits for India:
●
Accords have opened doors for India to
engage in economic collaborations, especially in critical sectors like water,
energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.
5. Youth Initiatives:
●
Recognizing the importance of youth
engagement, the Accords have encouraged youth delegations to foster bonds
between future leaders.
6. Educational and Cultural Exchange:
●
The Accords have also facilitated
educational and cultural exchange programs, including student exchanges and
Holocaust education.
Shortcomings
in the Abraham accords:
1.
Exclusion of major players:
●
Major players in the Middle East are still
out of the agreement such as Saudi Arabia has held its firm commitment to the
pre-existing Arab Peace Initiative.
2. Palestine issue:
●
Challenges concerning the Palestinian
future and the opposition to these Accords from Iran and Qatar. 86% of
Palestinians believe the normalization agreement with the UAE serves only
Israel’s interests and not their own.
3. Power struggle in West Asia:
●
The US may be a pre-eminent power in the
Middle East, but Russia has made a space for itself, spending a lot less money.
In recent years, China has indicated its willingness to play a larger role in
this region, and is close to both UAE and Israel and, increasingly, Saudi
Arabia.
4. Non expansion of the accord:
●
The scope of the Abraham Accords has also
failed to bring in new members.
●
Despite some softening in its position on
bilateral relations, including in the area of defence cooperation and the
opening of its airspace to Israeli aviation, Saudi Arabia has held firm in its
commitment to the pre-existing Arab Peace Initiative (API).
WAY
FORWARD:
1.
Peaceful resolve of Palestine issue:
●
Addressing the Palestinian issue by open
and inclusive dialogue among all signatory parties including Israel and the
participating states.
●
Encourage diplomatic solutions for
regional conflicts in the Middle east particularly in Yemen, Syria and Libya.
2. Invitation for More Nations:
●
India plays a crucial role in these
collaborative efforts, focusing on shared interests such as pandemic recovery,
trade expansion, climate change mitigation, and international security.
3. Countering extremism:
●
Avoid using land and resources for
separatist movements and interfering into internal affairs of neighbouring
countries.
●
Share intelligence and cooperate to
counter extremist ideologies.