Israel: The Key Factor in the UAE-Serbia Alliance
Israel has been and remains the key factor in the alliance between the UAE and Serbia, following the recent signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries.
On Saturday, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade during a one-day working visit that included the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries.
The agreement paves the way for enhanced trade and investment flows, fostering bilateral cooperation between the private sectors of both countries. It seeks to create a network of trade agreements that will expedite investment, boost knowledge sharing, and generate opportunities for joint ventures in rapidly growing sectors.
The free trade agreement between the UAE and Serbia is the first agreement under the UAE’s free trade program with a country that is not a member of the World Trade Organization.
In September 2023, the two countries commenced negotiations for a comprehensive economic and trade partnership agreement aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment flows.
Mohamed bin Zayed met with the Serbian president in Belgrade in June of last year to discuss efforts aimed at enhancing security in the Balkans.
An international investigation has revealed that the UAE has been facilitating a military support bridge for Israel through Serbia, while Tel Aviv continues its ongoing genocide in Gaza for over a year.
The investigation revealed the involvement of the Abu Dhabi government in questionable relations with a Serbian arms manufacturing company that supplied weapons to the Israeli occupation during the war on Gaza, contributing to the massacres of Palestinian civilians.
Last month, the British website ‘Middle East Eye’ published a report conducted by the Balkan Investigative Network and the newspaper ‘Haaretz,’ titled ‘From Belgrade to Beersheba,’ which revealed millions of dollars in arms exports from Serbia to ‘Israel’ by a state-owned company that has longstanding ties with the UAE.
The investigation reported that the company Yugoimport SDPR exported weapons worth $17.1 million to “Israel” via military aircraft, as well as civilian aircraft.
Serbia was one of the key arms-exporting countries during the Cold War when it was part of Yugoslavia. Despite its close relationship with Russia, it established relations with Ukraine and exported ammunition worth $858 million to it, according to the Financial Times.
In 2021, Serbia’s exports were estimated to be approximately $1.2 billion. However, Serbia’s interests reach further into the Middle East. After the global crisis, Serbia, facing financial difficulties, sought loans from the UAE in 2013 and aimed to attract Emirati investments while also signing military contracts with them.
In 2013, the two countries announced their first arms deal, which included Serbia’s agreement to export armored vehicles to the UAE, along with a bilateral agreement to develop guided ground-to-ground missiles. At the time, the value of the deal was estimated at around $214 million.
Abu Dhabi also made significant investments in Serbian Airways (Air Serbia), although the Serbian state will take over the Emirati stake in its airline.
Serbia continued its collaboration with the UAE on contracts and deals. In 2022, SDPR signed an agreement with Mohammed bin Zayed, who was then Crown Prince and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to sell a “significant quantity of ammunition,” according to a statement from the Serbian Ministry of Defense.
Recently, the Abu Dhabi government made new investments in Serbian tourism through a company linked to Jared Kushner, the former advisor and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.
The website “Balkan Insight” noted that the Serbian arms manufacturer “Krušik,” affiliated with SDPR, sold 60mm, 80mm, and 120mm mines, along with hand grenades, at very low prices to a Saudi company.
The investigative website “Arms Watch” found that Serbian weapons ended up in the hands of fighters from the Islamic State in Yemen.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi launched a military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen after they seized control of the capital, Sana’a, in 2014. However, the airstrikes failed to defeat the Houthis and resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, leading to a humanitarian disaster.
Last week, the International Crisis Group reported that the UAE has turned into a pariah state because of its alliance and public normalization with Israel, along with its neglect of the atrocities committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
The group highlighted in its analysis that since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the image of the UAE has deteriorated throughout the region due to its continued normalization with Tel Aviv
The international group published a lengthy analysis titled “The UAE, Israel, and the Test of Influence,” highlighting that Abu Dhabi signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 with Israel in pursuit of strategic benefits.
However, during the Gaza war, the costs became clear. While Abu Dhabi shows no signs of reevaluating normalization, it may consider smaller actions to express its discontent with the Israeli campaign, according to the group’s article.
The analysis noted that in 2020, the UAE normalized relations with Israel, making it, along with Bahrain, the first two Arab nations to establish official diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv since Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with the Jewish state in 1979 and 1994, respectively.
The Abraham Accords, also known as the 2020 normalization agreement, positioned the UAE as a close partner to Israel, allowing it, in principle, to leverage its proximity, new communication channels, and the goodwill that has arisen to enhance its influence over the country.
