[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 773 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 773
Commemorating the second anniversary of the signing of the Abraham
Accords Declaration.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2022
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Ernst, and Mr. Booker)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the second anniversary of the signing of the Abraham
Accords Declaration.
Whereas, on September 15, 2020, the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates,
and Bahrain signed the historic Abraham Accords;
Whereas, on December 22, 2020, Morocco signed the Abraham Accords;
Whereas, on January 6, 2021, Sudan signed the Abraham Accords;
Whereas the Abraham Accords created formal diplomatic ties between Israel and
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco increasing the
number of Arab states with formal diplomatic ties with Israel to six;
Whereas the Abraham Accords marked the first instance of normalized relations
between Israel and Arab countries in more than two decades;
Whereas the leadership and success of prior normalization agreements between
Israel and Egypt in 1979 and between Israel and Jordan in 1994 paved the
way for creating formal diplomatic ties with other Arab and Muslim-
majority countries;
Whereas the Abraham Accords have reduced the likelihood of armed conflict,
improved ties between Israel and neighboring countries, and advanced the
cause of achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, including through a
negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensures
mutual recognition and guarantees that Israelis and Palestinians live
side-by-side with freedom, security, and prosperity;
Whereas the Abraham Accords provide an opportunity to make tangible improvements
in the lives of Palestinians, including increased multilateral
investment in the Palestinian economy among signatory countries of the
Abraham Accords;
Whereas continued political, economic, and security cooperation between the
United States, Israel, and Arab states remains vital to the prosperity
and security of the Middle East;
Whereas the relationship between the United States and Israel is rooted in
shared values and interests;
Whereas the Abraham Accords demonstrably have advanced religious freedom in the
Middle East, including through interfaith and intercultural dialogue
between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain;
Whereas new opportunities for multilateral cooperation generated by the Abraham
Accords may improve the ability of the United States to meet nascent
threats and emerging challenges;
Whereas the Embassy of Israel in Abu Dhabi was opened on January 24, 2021, and
the United Arab Emirates became the first Gulf country to open an
embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 30, 2021;
Whereas Israel opened a resident embassy in Manama, Bahrain, in September 2021,
and the first ambassador to Israel from Bahrain assumed his post in
August 2021;
Whereas the Foreign Ministers of Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Morocco, and the United States convened at the Negev Summit in
Sde Boker, Israel, resulting in the establishment of the Negev Forum and
six working groups tasked with furthering multilateral cooperation in
the areas of energy, education and coexistence, food and water security,
health, regional security, and tourism;
Whereas the Abraham Accords have catalyzed increases in trade, tourism, and
investment in the Middle East, benefitting the people of those
countries;
Whereas, at the 2022 World Economic Forum, the Minister of State for Foreign
Trade of the United Arab Emirates indicated that bilateral trade with
Israel has surpassed $2,500,000,000 since the signing of the Abraham
Accords;
Whereas, on May 31, 2022, Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a
comprehensive free-trade agreement to cover 96 percent of bilateral
trade, amounting to approximately $1,000,000,000;
Whereas trade between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is expected to surpass
$10,000,000,000 within 5 years, economic conditions that were made
possible by the Abraham Accords;
Whereas trade between Israel and Bahrain increased to $1,200,000 in May 2022, up
from $0 in May 2021;
Whereas trade between Israel and Morocco increased to $3,100,000 in May 2022, an
increase of 94 percent since May 2021;
Whereas the Abraham Accords have facilitated direct commercial airline flights,
improving people-to-people ties in spite of obstacles created by the
COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas, on July 14, 2022, the United States and Israel signed the Jerusalem
U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration, which calls for a
deepening and broadening of the Abraham Accords; and
Whereas destabilizing developments in the Middle East continue to demonstrate
the importance of the Abraham Accords: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commemorates the second anniversary of the signing of
the Abraham Accords;
(2) reaffirms the enduring and ironclad alliance between
the United States and Israel;
(3) believes that the United States should--
(A) prioritize the expansion and strengthening of
the Abraham Accords to encourage other countries to
normalize relations with Israel and ensure that
existing agreements reap tangible security and economic
benefits for the citizens of those countries;
(B) with other signatory countries of the Abraham
Accords, promote and develop new areas of regional
collaboration including maritime security, defense
cooperation, clean energy initiatives, water security
initiatives, and direct flights; and
(C) build on the Abraham Accords to help advance
prospects for peace between Israel and the
Palestinians, make tangible improvements in the lives
of the Palestinian people, and make progress toward a
negotiated solution that ensures mutual recognition;
(4) supports efforts to increase security and prosperity in
the Middle East and North Africa via continued security and
defense cooperation in furtherance of the Abraham Accords;
(5) encourages the expansion of the Abraham Accords to
include countries that do not have diplomatic relations with
Israel, and urges the President to take the necessary steps to
secure comparable agreements with other Arab and Muslim-
majority countries; and
(6) supports opportunities to expand economic ties between
the United States, Israel, and Arab states through
comprehensive economic partnerships and other trade
initiatives.
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