Israel's Foreign Ministry says the country will soon open an office at a renewable energy agency in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates' capital even though the two nations have no diplomatic relations.
Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said today the office will be accredited to IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Like much of the Arab world, the UAE has no diplomatic relations with Israel and Israeli passport holders are barred from entering the Emirates.
However, IRENA has been part of a rapprochement between Israel and the UAE before. In 2010, then-Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau attended an IRENA conference in Abu Dhabi, becoming the first Cabinet-level official to visit the Emirates.
Officials at IRENA and the Emirati government could not be immediately reached for comment.
