The American Jewish Committee (AJC) advocacy group announced that it has opened an office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its first in the Arab region, in a move lauded by the UAE’s foreign minister to promote dialogue.

Last year, Bahrain and the UAE established ties with Israel  in U.S.-brokered deals called the Abraham Accords.

“We are thrilled to have you,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan told the group’s virtual annual global forum on Monday. “Your presence in the UAE is … part of changing mindsets.”

Sheikh Abdullah and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif Al-Zayani reiterated that the accords, which were also signed by Sudan and Morocco, aimed to help bring lasting peace and prosperity through cooperation in fields such as health and technology.

The Emirati minister said: “We have to be tolerant to thrive … in a challenging neighborhood,” adding that the global effort to “challenge extremism and radical ideas has not been appropriate”.

Finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would require “strategic” thinking on both sides, Sheikh Abdullah said.