We are becoming used to making history, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Wednesday at the formal inauguration of the new Israeli consulate in Dubai, a day after a similar ceremony marking the opening of the Israeli Embassy in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The ceremony was attended by high-ranking UAE officials, including Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan Al-Olama and Minister of State for Foreign Trade, as well as Israeli Consul General in Dubai, Ilan Shtulman and representatives of the local Jewish community.
"This consulate is not a symbolic place," Lapid said at the ribbon-cutting. "It is a living place. A place of tourism, business, of dialogue between two talented peoples who can and want to contribute to one another."
"The peace we are perpetuating today is not between governments and leaders, but between people and nations. It is not a peace between myself and my colleagues here, but between our children. This is also our way of looking at things. This is the reason we are here today. Because we don't accept the reality – we create it."
"Our two peoples did the inconceivable. Here in Dubai, out of the arid desert, emerged a sophisticated, educated people with outstanding economic and technological capabilities," Lapid added.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
