Trade volumes between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have hit $2.5 billion since the two normalised relations two years ago, the UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said on Friday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Al Zeyoudi added that “in the last two years, the trade volume between the UAE and Israel exceeded $2.45 billion just in two years. Only in the first quarter of 2022, we already exceeded $1 billion, which means this year we’re going to exceed $2 billion.”

The minister explained that 65 deals and memoranda of understanding have been signed between the UAE and Israel so far, adding that “more than 1,000 Israeli companies are expected to base themselves in our country this year.”

Al Zeyoudi remarked on future bilateral plans, saying the two are making progress towards signing a free trade agreement after less than four months of negotiations which could boost bilateral trade to $5 billion annually.

“Relations between our two countries have existed for only 18 months, and this confirms the fact that one of the main objectives of the Abraham Accords is economic,” he said.

According to the UAE minister, Israel and the UAE also plan to continue cooperation in the areas of water, energy, health and green energy.

The UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco established diplomatic ties with the occupation state in 2020 along with Egypt and Jordan who made peace with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively. There is now growing speculation that Saudi Arabia will follow suit by establishing full normalisation with Tel Aviv.