Israel opens new embassy in Bahrain

Jerusalem: Israel and Bahrain cemented their year-old agreement to establish diplomatic ties on Thursday, with the king of the small Gulf Arab state hosting Israel’s Foreign Minister who for the first time opened an embassy in the capital of Manama.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the same day as the first direct flight from Manama touched down in Tel Aviv. The top Israeli diplomat later called the visit “warm and optimistic.”

Bahrain’s carrier Gulf Air was met at Ben Gurion International Airport with a water salute and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The festivities reinforced the accord between Israel and the island nation, one of four Arab states that



signed onto the US-brokered “Abraham Accords.” Lapid has already visited the United Arab Emirates and Morocco and opened Israel’s diplomatic offices in those two countries since he became foreign minister in June.

During his meeting with Lapid, King Hamad hailed the normalisation agreement as a “historical achievement on the road to just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” state-run Bahrain News Agency reported.

“The launch of the first flight brings new and exciting opportunities between our countries and allows our peoples to finally meet and build connections that will create a brighter future,” said Undersecretary of Bahrain Civil Aviation Affair, Mohammed Thamir Al Kaabi.