MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with the crown prince of this Gulf state on Monday and told him that Israel is seeking to normalize ties with more Arab countries.
Cohen also stressed to Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the importance of promoting economic and civil relations between the countries, including reaching a free trade agreement, the State Department said.
The two met at Gudaibiya Palace in Manama.
Cohen had originally planned to meet with Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The reason for the change was not immediately clear.
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Cohen also met with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif Al Zayani. There were predictable signs of dissent during ministers’ public comments. Zayani announced that the prince “reiterated the importance of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution, as set out in the Arab Peace Initiative.”
An Israeli official argued to the Times of Israel that Zayani’s statement was nothing to be alarmed about, saying that “the US and EU are also calling for a two-state solution.”
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (center) meets with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, September 4, 2023 (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
Zayani also highlighted areas of agreement and underscored his country’s desire to expand ties in “investment, trade and other areas of cooperation.”
According to the State Department, the two discussed “regional security issues” during their meeting, a thinly veiled reference to the Iranian threat.
Earlier on Monday, Cohen visited the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet and met with the head of US Naval Forces Central Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.
Later on Monday, he signed a series of memorandums of understanding and then hosted an event with businessmen from both countries.
Secretary of State Eli Cohen visits the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama and meets with the Chief of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO).
The Israeli diplomat also inaugurated the new Israeli embassy in Manama earlier in the day, which was moved to a permanent location after operating from a temporary home that then-Foreign Minister Yair Lapid opened at an official ceremony two years ago.
Cohen arrived on Sunday evening and was greeted at Al Zayani airport before heading to his hotel to meet with Israeli businessmen interested in doing business in Bahrain.
Israeli officials are eager to improve trade ties with Bahrain, which amount to only about $50 million annually. In comparison, Israel’s bilateral trade relationship with the United Arab Emirates is expected to reach $3 billion this year.
Cohen is scheduled to arrive back in Israel on Tuesday evening.
Cohen’s visit comes weeks after Manama postponed his arrival due to a visit by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, a key flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Cohen is one of the first senior Israeli officials to publicly visit Israel’s Abraham Accords partners since the Netanyahu government came to power late last year. In August, Energy Minister Israel Katz was in Abu Dhabi to meet the UAE Minister of Technology and Industry Sultan Al-Jaber and the Jordanian Ministers of Environment, Water and Energy.
Senior Arab officials also stayed away from Israel during the same period.
Although Bahrain has not stood out for the severity of its criticism, it has joined other Arab countries in condemning Israel over statements made by hardline ministers.
However, there have been recent signs of warming beyond Cohen’s visit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to fly to Dubai for the COP28 climate summit in late November after a previously planned trip to the United Arab Emirates was canceled due to a visit by Ben Gvir to the Temple Mount.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdul Lateef Rashid Al Zayani speaks to journalists in Manama on December 4, 2022. (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)
The Prime Minister was also welcomed by King Mohammed VI in July. invited to Morocco after Israel announced it would recognize Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara.
Cohen’s visit to Bahrain comes a week after a debacle with another potential Arab partner. After Cohen revealed that he had met with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Manjoush last week, he ran into an uproar when he made the meeting public. Mangoush lost her job and fled to Turkey as Cohen faced sharp criticism for angering Arab allies and the United States.
Cohen blamed “political opponents” for the reaction.
The Libya incident also exposed tensions between Netanyahu and his foreign minister. Netanyahu released a statement saying that in the future, any sensitive meeting conducted by a cabinet minister and any publication of news about such a meeting must first be coordinated with him – a clear public rebuke of Cohen.
File: Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush attends a signing ceremony in Doha on August 8, 2022. (Mustafa ABUMUNES / AFP)
Israel and Bahrain established full diplomatic relations in September 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic agreements between the Jewish state and four Arab countries.
In Bahrain, as in the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, public support for the Abraham Accords is declining. Washington Institute polls released in July showed that 45% of Bahrainis had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the agreements as of November 2020. This support had steadily declined to a paltry 20% by March this year.