The Israeli heads of Bank Hapoalim and Leumi will head to the UAE this month, the first of its kind since the two countries agreed to normalize relations between them, Reuters reported on Sunday.

A delegation led by Bank Hapoalim will leave on September 8 to visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where it will meet government and commercial officials, as well as heads of major banks in the Emirates.

On Sunday, Bank CEO Dov Kotler described the visit as a "unique opportunity to establish economic relations and cooperation between our two countries and their financial systems, which will achieve economic growth for both sides," adding that there is an "urgent bilateral desire" to establish strong economic relations.

The second delegation is headed by the CEO of Bank Leumi and is visiting on September 14, and the bank said that it hopes the diplomatic agreement will pave the way for cooperation in the financial fields, technology, health, tourism, agriculture and industry.

Last Tuesday, First Abu Dhabi Bank - the largest of the UAE banks - announced that it had started cooperation talks with Israeli financial institutions, most notably Bank Hapoalim and Leumi, the two largest banks in Israel.

He said, through his Twitter account, that the discussions aimed at establishing banking relationships that would enhance financial and economic cooperation between the UAE and Israel, with a focus on establishing relationships between banks, bilateral trade, technology and innovation.

Last August, Israel and the UAE announced the normalization of diplomatic relations and the initiation of new, wide-ranging ties, according to an agreement brokered by the United States.

Last week, they agreed to form a joint committee to cooperate in financial services with the aim of supporting investment between the two sides.

 Cargo flight

Last Thursday, the Israeli airline "El Al" announced that it would operate its first cargo flight to the UAE on September 16, to be weekly.

This came under the recently announced normalization agreement between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, according to what the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted the airline as saying.

The authority said that the flight, which will be made by a Boeing 747, will become weekly, and will take off from Israel on Wednesday, and return to Tel Aviv on Friday, adding that the plane will carry agricultural equipment and technology.

Last Monday, the first commercial flights from Israel to the UAE landed, as the first practical step after an agreement to normalize relations between the two sides.