FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011 file photo, visitors of different nationalities visit the Masdar Institute campus, part of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Israel will soon open an office at a renewable energy agency in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates ó even though the two nations have no diplomatic relations, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. According to the spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon, the office will be accredited to IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency which has has set up a base in Masdar City, a government-backed clean energy campus just outside of the capital, Abu Dhabi. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

JERUSALEM: Israel plans to open a diplomatic-level mission to the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, its first openly established representative office in the United Arab Emirates, Israeli diplomats said yesterday. The office will not be a full mission, but will consist of a diplomat assigned to the renewable energy agency. Nevertheless, it will be the first time an Israeli foreign ministry official is permanently stationed in the Gulf state.

Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed details first reported in Israeli daily Haaretz and three diplomatic officials told Reuters the move was underway. The mission has been the subject of years of top secret discussions, according to Haaretz. Israel does not have formal diplomatic ties with most states in the Middle East. But the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran has caused disquiet in Israel and Sunni Arab states alike. Common ground has emerged between the two sides, even if they are cautious about drawing attention to the links.

In recent years, Israeli officials have met counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf at nuclear non-proliferation talks in Switzerland, gatherings that the Israelis say have helped melt the ice and lead to increased dialogue. A delegation from Israelís Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited IRENAís offices in Abu Dhabi and met its director-general earlier in the week, a spokesperson for IRENA said in a written statement.

The visit by director-general of Israelís foreign ministry Dore Gold was the first time someone of his diplomatic rank has publicly made such a trip. IRENA has been part of a rapprochement between Israel and the Emirates before. In 2010, then-Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau attended an IRENA conference in Abu Dhabi on behalf of his country, becoming the first Cabinet-level official to visit the Emirates. - Agencies