Herzog becomes 1st Israeli president to visit Bahrain

MANAMA: Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Bahrain on Sunday on the first trip by an Israeli head of state to the Gulf kingdom, following the normalisation of relations in 2020.

Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, met withkinghamadbinisaal-khalifaandcrownprince Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-khalifa.

They discussed issues including regional security and “ways to encourage communication between the representatives of the private sector in the two countries”, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said.

In2020,bahrain,theuaeandmoroccobecame thefirstarabstatesindecadestonormaliserelations withisrael,followingnegotiationsspearheadedbythe administrationofformeruspresidentdonaldtrump.

Israel had earlier reached peace treaties with neighbouringegyptandjordan.“icallonmorestates in our region to join this partnership, strengthening the Middle East,” Herzog said on Sunday.

“The expanding circle of (Middle East) peace is highly important, especially amid threats to global andregionalstability.inthefaceofhate,threatsand terror, there is one answer: alliances with friends.”

Kinghamadsaidthatbahrainsupports“achieving a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace that guarantees the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and that will lead to stability, development and prosperity for both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,aswellasallpeoplesoftheregion,”bnasaid.

Herzog said on Twiter he welcomed King Hamad’s “vision of peace, friendship and tolerance”.

“Myvisitunderscorestheimportanceisraelataches to relations with Bahrain, including partnerships on defence, trade, tourism and environment,” he said.

Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid, then Israel’s top diplomat, visited Bahrain in September last year to open the Israeli embassy there.

In February of this year, Israel signed a defence agreementwithbahrain,andnatalibennetbecame the first Israeli premier to visit the country.