Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Sunday the appointment of Amir Hayek as Israel’s first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Hayak has previously served as director-general of the Economy and Industry Ministry and the Israel Manufacturer’s Association, as well as president of the Israel Hotel Association and chairman of the ELA Recycling Corporation.
Hayek thanked Lapid, saying it was a “great honor for me to be the first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and represent the State of Israel.”
Earlier this month, the UAE officially opened its embassy in Tel Aviv in a ceremony attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja.
Hayek’s appointment follows that of former Knesset member Ronen Hoffman as ambassador to Canada. Hoffman, a lecturer on diplomacy and foreign policy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, was one of the founders of the center’s International Institute for Counterterrorism.