When he arrived at the Regional Energy Conference in Cairo Feb. 14, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi did not sit down in his place. Instead, he went straight to Israel’s Minister of Energy Karin Elharrar, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and thanked her for coming.

Sisi's gesture was more than friendly. Egypt is changing its attitude toward Israel and working to broaden its economic and commercial ties with its neighbor.

One reason for this new approach is the outstanding success of the relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, as evidenced by the many business and financial agreements reached between the two countries since the signing of the Abraham Accords. Israel is extending its ties within the Arab world and Egypt cannot ignore it. Also, there is hope that Jerusalem will help Cairo in its relationship with Washington, which is raising concerns on human rights issues.

Energy is one of the areas where business between Israel and Egypt has flourished over the past decade, with pipelines laid and sales agreements signed and implemented.