(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General Alon Ushpiz left for an official visit to Manama, the capital of Bahrain on Thursday.
During the visit, Dir-Gen Ushpiz chaired the Israeli delegation to the second session of the Bilateral Steering Committee (the first session was held in Jerusalem in August 2021), and held a series of official meetings with the Bahraini leadership, including the Foreign Minister and the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Israel and Bahrain signed the bilateral Joint Warm Peace Strategy, which is a roadmap for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries over the next decade, at the Negev Summit in March 2022.
Before leaving, Dir-Gen Ushpiz said, “The relationship with Bahrain is at the core of Israel's political activity. The roadmap for developing the bilateral relationship is being built step-by-step, in practical terms that bear fruit for the benefit of both peoples. I am happy for the opportunity to chair the second session, which is intended to ensure that its products will form another pillar of Israeli relations with Bahrain, as well as contribute to regional stability, including the continuation of the Negev Summit process.”
Israelis begin doing deals in Saudi Arabia
Al Monitor's Danny Zaken meanwhile reports today that the economic and commercial ties between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE following the Abraham Accords, have increased trade five-fold to nearly a billion dollars in 2021. They have also generated business ties between Israeli and Saudi businesspeople related primarily to Israeli hydro-technology, and other Israeli agri-tech technologies.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported a $2 billion Saudi investment in Jared Kushner's private equity fund, which aims to invest in Israeli advanced technology companies — this in addition to existing Saudi investments through an investment fund operated by Steven Mnuchin, which invests in Israeli startups operating in the United States.
Zaken also reports that two Biden advisers, Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, are currently in Saudi Arabia, aiming to convince the regime to increase oil production. Concurrently, the United States is reportedly mediating normalization between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt with an aim of transferring the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea to Saudi sovereignty.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Saudi Arabia in November 2020 to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November 2020 alongside then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.