Manama: Bahrain and Israel have formally established diplomatic relations on Sunday at a function in Manama after two countries reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month.
Delegations from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the USA and the State of Israel met in Manama, where a historic joint communique was signed by Bahrain and Israel on establishing diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations, marking the new and promising era in their relationship, official Bahrain News Agency BNA said.
The two sides signed various memorandums of understanding on economic and trade relations, telecommunications, commerce, air services, movement of people, banking and financial services, cooperation between Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as other areas of mutual benefits, it added.
Moreover, working groups met to discuss a wide range of additional areas for potential cooperation, including aviation, healthcare, technology, tourism, and agriculture, and to plan their bilateral relationship.
This historic diplomatic breakthrough has been facilitated by the Abraham Accords initiative of US President Donald Trump, BNA said.
The Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Israel will join with the United States to advance a Strategic Agenda for peace and prosperity in the Middle East and expand avenues for cooperation that are anchored within shared values and interests, the joint communique said.
The parties will continue their efforts to achieve a just, comprehensive, and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it added.
Following the signing, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani said in a speech that he hoped for fruitful bilateral cooperation in every field between the two nations.
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin accompanied the Israeli delegation led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat. He will also accompany Israel's first delegation to the UAE on Tuesday.
The Israeli team flew from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport on El Al flight 973 - in reference to Bahrain's international dialing code - and passed over Saudi Arabia with special permission from the kingdom.
Both countries reached an agreement to establish official relations on September 11. This diplomatic step was followed by the signing of the Peace Declaration between the two countries in Washington on September 15, 2020.
