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Updated September 29th, 2021 at 18:25 IST

Israel to open embassy in Bahrain; 'strengthen relations between 2 countries': Reports

Israel's new foreign minister, Yair Lapid, is expected to arrive in Bahrain's on Thursday to inaugurate the Jewish state's second embassy in the Gulf.

Reported by: Rohit Ranjan
Israel
Image: Unsplash | Image:self
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Israel's new foreign minister, Yair Lapid, is expected to arrive in Bahrain's capital, Manama on Thursday to inaugurate the Jewish state's second embassy in the Gulf. According to Tamam Busafi, a political analyst in Manama, the presence of the Israeli foreign minister represents an essential step in the strengthening of the relations between the two countries, as per a report by Sputnik. 

Busafi further said that the embassy's opening is significant not only economically but also politically. They can collaborate on a number of things. Bahrain has a lot to offer in terms of tourism because it has some of the most ancient sites in the Gulf. Israel and Bahrain have inked seven agreements in the year since the Abraham Accords were signed in September 2020, including one in the banking sector.

A top Bahraini official met openly with an Israeli military commander in August

Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were rumoured to be in negotiations earlier this year to construct a so-called military pact aimed at restraining Iran's nuclear ambitions, which purportedly threaten these countries. In August, a top Bahraini official met openly with an Israeli military commander in charge of Iran affairs and reports imply that such contacts are not uncommon, according to Sputnik.

The alliance against Iran, according to Busafi, is one of the primary elements that has brought Israel, Bahrain and the UAE together. It wasn't just their nuclear weapons. The Gulf governments have been concerned about what they see as Iranian efforts to export its revolution to other regions of the Gulf and the Middle East, as well as their support for destabilising groups and militias such as Yemen's Houthis, Palestinian Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The future will not always be "pink and rosy"

According to the analyst, the future will not always be "pink and rosy." There will be ups and downs. But they have to get to know one other and collaborate. They don't want to settle for a stalemate with Israel instead they want it to be warm and peaceful, with lots of trade and visitors, as per Sputnik. A limited number of them are due to arrive in Manama tomorrow, when Gulf Air, Bahrain's flag carrier will fly from Tel Aviv to the Arab nation for the first time.

Image: Unsplash

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Published September 29th, 2021 at 18:21 IST

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