Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the deal to normalise relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates during a meeting with senior White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday.

Mr Johnson “dropped in” on a meeting in London between Mr Kushner and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss the Middle East peace process, his office told Reuters.

The meeting comes just two months ahead of the US election in November, when President Donald Trump will face Democrat Joe Biden.

Earlier this week Mr Kushner, who is Jewish and married to Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka, flew on the first ever commercial flight to the UAE from Israel.

The US-brokered deal between the two countries has fuelled hopes of improved ties between the Jewish state and Gulf Arab countries.

“They welcomed the historic Israel-UAE normalisation deal, and discussed wider US efforts to facilitate the normalisation of ties between Israel and Arab States,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “The foreign secretary updated Mr Kushner on his recent visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and his encouragement of a return to cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships, as a first step on the road to a renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“The prime minister and foreign secretary were clear about their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution.”