NEW YORK CITY: The UN on Wednesday welcomed the announcement that authorities in Israel and Lebanon have agreed to establish a permanent, mutually acceptable maritime boundary, formally ending a long-running dispute between them.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric described the deal as a “positive development” and told Arab News that it “will clearly benefit the stability and the prosperity of the region.”

In a major diplomatic breakthrough, Israeli and Lebanese officials announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to a US-brokered draft deal that resolves the dispute between them over control of an eastern stretch of the Mediterranean Sea. The agreement would grant drilling rights to Lebanon at one potential gas field and confirm Israel’s control of another. It is intended to provide new sources of energy and income for both countries.

The deal now awaits ratification by both governments. It will come into force when Lebanon and Israel send written confirmation of agreement to the US mediator, after which Washington will formally declare the deal is in place. The two countries will then send identical coordinates to the UN, setting out the exact details of maritime boundary.

Dujarric said the UN remains “closely engaged with the parties and (stands) ready to continue to support this process, as requested and in close coordination with the US, which has been entrusted as a mediator by both Israel and Lebanon.”