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Blinken says Abraham Accords are ‘something we want to build on’

Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Biden administration’s foreign-policy agenda, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the work of his predecessor, Mike Pompeo.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks to the media at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2021. Credit: U.S. State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks to the media at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2021. Credit: U.S. State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday complimented the Trump administration for the Abraham Accords that normalized relations with Israel and several Gulf states and Muslim nations.

Blinken was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Biden administration’s foreign-policy agenda when U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked him what he thinks his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, did correctly.

In his response, Blinken referenced technological advances and the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

“Trying to help bring the State Department into the 21st century, the use of technology and empowering some of our people with technology, [which is] something we really want to follow through,” he said. “And as we were talking about earlier, I think the initiatives that led to steps by countries to normalize relations with Israel were a very good thing and something we want to build on.”

The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were signed on Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C.

Sudan and Morocco followed suit just months afterwards.

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