Abraham Fund in Question
The signing of the historic Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020 represented the single-most significant step toward stable and positive Arab-Israeli relations in modern history. Now, however, implementation of the Abraham Fund is in jeopardy.
With the leadership of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and later Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan was achieved. It marked the first public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since Jordan in 1994, creating remarkable stability in the Middle East.
Following an announcement on October 20, 2020, signatories to the historic Abraham Accords were provided access to a $3 billion dollar reserve. The Abraham Fund was to be administered by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a federal bank that partners with the private sector on global investment and development projects.
As soon as President Trump left office, this promise was broken.
Subsequently, the Biden Administration stated that it would expand upon President Trump's success with the Abraham Accords, but there has been little to no indication that this is a priority of the Administration.
This week, during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, I questioned Dev Jagadesan, Acting DFC Chief Executive Officer and Deputy General Counsel, regarding the status of applications and the Fund itself. His response was deeply concerning and indicative of partisan petty politics.
"With respect to the fund as a whole, that was a major commitment of the previous administration and that has been reviewed at the interagency agency level…" said Jagadesan.
Promoting peace and stability in the Middle East was a remarkable achievement and the viable transactions that were brought to us in the context of that Fund should move forward and continue to be evaluated.
In reference to this fund, the U.S. Embassy in Israel aptly states, "This initiative is an integral part of the historic peace accord… and demonstrates the benefits of peace by improving the lives of the region's peoples."
The Biden Administration should put aside cheap political obstructionism and accept applications with expedited consideration. The original intent of promoting stability in the Middle East should be pursued no matter which President initiated the fund.
Joe Wilson is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving South Carolina's 2nd District.