The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, have emerged as one of the most consequential geopolitical and economic developments in the Middle East in decades. While they were initially presented as a diplomatic thaw between Israel and several Arab states, their real power has been the transformation of regional trade, investment, and financial flows. For Pakistan, a country historically committed to the Palestinian cause and reliant on Gulf partners for energy and remittances, the shifting sands of this new regional alignment present both opportunities and profound dilemmas.

In less than five years, Israel’s trade with the United Arab Emirates alone has skyrocketed from almost nothing to nearly three billion dollars a year, with projections suggesting it could surpass ten billion dollars within the next decade if the momentum continues. Israeli exports of technology, agricultural know-how, defence systems, and even consumer goods have penetrated Gulf markets at a pace few would have predicted when the Accords were first announced. The UAE, in turn, has leveraged its financial muscle to invest in Israeli energy projects and tech startups, including a one-point-one billion dollar stake by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala in Israel’s Tamar gas field and multimillion-dollar injections into Israeli food technology companies. Bahraini and Moroccan engagement, though smaller in volume, has followed the same template of normalisation rapidly translating into economic integration.

The Abraham Accords have not only redrawn the map of Middle Eastern diplomacy but have triggered a cascade of financial and trade realignments that continue to reverberate across the region.

The strategic calculus behind this cooperation has been partially driven by shared concerns about Iran’s influence in the region. Yet the economic dividends have quickly taken on a life of their own. Emirati banks and Israeli institutions have built new channels for trade finance. Direct flights now carry business delegations and tourists between Tel Aviv and Gulf capitals. Joint ventures in solar energy, desalination, and agricultural innovation........

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