First-ever UAE Ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Khaja, on Monday arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv to present his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

The media reported on Monday.

In mid-February, Abu Dhabi appointed its first ambassador to Israel, six months after the two countries agreed to normalise their ties.

Mr. Al-Khaja, the former director of the Foreign Ministry’s office, was sworn in before UAE Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Mr. Al-Khaja is also set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi later in the day.

The ambassador will also meet other senior officials, according to Israeli media reports.

Earlier, Mr. Al-Khaja held talks with Israel’s temporary ambassador in the UAE, Eitan Na’eh, who is stationed in Abu Dhabi, with the parties having discussed means of developing bilateral relations.

The UAE and Israel struck a U.S-brokered deal, officially known as the Abraham Accords, to normalise their relationships in August and ratified it in October.

The UAE agreed to open an embassy in Tel Aviv, while Israel said it would establish a diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi.