The Biden administration Rejects the Fund for Supporting Development Projects between the Occupation and the UAE
The Biden administration Rejects the Fund for Supporting Development Projects between the Occupation and the UAE
After the signing of the normalization agreement (The Abraham Agreement) between the United Arab Emirates and the occupied Zionist entity five months ago, the United States, the official sponsor of the normalization agreement, agreed to establish a fund worth three billion dollars, based on the Zionist occupation state, for supporting development projects of the regime in countries of the Middle East.
Only a month later, news reports said that the agreement concluded between Washington, the occupying country and the UAE is at the stage of clinical death, after the victory of US President Joe Biden, as Biden did not support the agreement, he rather ignored it completely, prompting the US representative of the Fund, Abe Larson, to resign. So far, Washington has not named a replacement for him.
Pride Turns into Illusion
On October 19, 2020, the three parties to the agreement (Washington, UAE, and the Occupying entity) expressed their pride in establishing the fund, which will support investment and development initiatives led by the private business sector in order to enhance economic cooperation inside and outside the Middle East region.
In the same context, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said, “The Abraham Accords seek to establish economic relations between two of the most prosperous and advanced economies among the Middle East countries, which will result in achieving security in the region.”
US reports indicated that the Abraham Fund had received more than 250 applications from private companies, as well as semi-public initiatives in the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain. Bilateral projects were also presented, where 15 projects were selected after evaluation and sent to Washington for approval, however, they have not been approved yet.
It is worth noting that the fund was established as an arm of the American International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is a governmental financing institution that was established in 2019 to bring together the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Development Credit Authority of the United States Agency for International Development.
Photo Capture Agreement
In a statement to Al-Jazeera news channel, a former US ambassador said that this type of agreement has no real goal, as the parties to the agreement wanted to take a picture for the public opinion only, and many people have not heard of this initiative and do not know its terms.
The agreement has been a few days before the US presidential elections, which preoccupied the public opinion in all countries, and it is expected that the US government bureaucratic procedures may have delayed this initiative until the end of the term of former US President Donald Trump.
In the same context, a legal expert said that the legal implications of this agreement and the normalization agreement between the UAE, the occupying Zionist entity, and Bahrain should be well considered. This is because unlike Bahrain, the US does not have a free trade agreement with the UAE, as this agreement would impede free trade operations, as well as considerations of the country of origin, customs duties, and taxes between the parties to these joint initiatives.
An American diplomat said that the US administration of President Joe Biden is expected to review all the agreements that were made during the rule of former President Donald Trump, and with full support for the normalization agreement from the White House. The details of that agreement are being handled by officials of the US State and Treasury departments, thus it is not surprising that an agreement with no clear basis will be rejected by the US administration, especially if the US is a party to it.
Read More: “To Hell with You” Bahraini Journalist Attacks Anti-Normalization