US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is visiting Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan this week. That trip comes not long after Israel and the Emirates, brokered by the US, decided to end their diplomatic relationship normalize.
In the background, Israel and the United Arab Emirates had been drawing closer together for much longer. Both countries are concerned about Iran’s influence in the Middle East. Israel and the Emirates are expected to exchange ambassadors soon.
Malicious investors
The full program of Pompeo is not yet known, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Morocco may also be on the schedule. He will be followed during the week by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser.
In Israel, Pompeo will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, where regional security issues and Iran’s influence will be on the agenda. They also talk about the possibilities to cooperate even more intensively in the economic field and thus keep “malicious investors” out. The US State Department is referring to China, which is trying to gain a foothold in Israel.
List of terrorist countries
For Sudan, Pompeo’s visit could mean that the country is taking a step in its quest to be removed from the US list of terrorist countries. Sudan has been trying to do this since April 2019. The success of this depends on the willingness of the Sudanese government to compensate the victims of the bombings on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. The Sudanese government is suspected of sheltering the perpetrators before they hit.
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