Israel-UAE friendship continues with mutual recognition of driving licenses
The agreement has been in the works since shortly after the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding on the mutual recognition of driving licenses issued by each country.
The agreement was signed by Emirati Interior Minister Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli and the Expo 2020 Dubai. Holders of licenses from the UAE and Israel will be able to drive in the other country without taking additional tests, the official Emirates News Agency reported.
The agreement has been in the works since the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords were signed in 2020. That year, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Alon Ushpiz mentioned the driving license negotiations at an Al-Monitor event on Israel-UAE normalization.
“The implication of this is if you are an Israeli businessman and you go and open an office in Dubai, the UAE is welcoming you to stay and live in the most normal way possible,” said Ushpiz. “These things are the building blocks of the strategic thing we are working on.”
