Ashkenazi to be first Israeli minister to visit Bahrain

After accepting an invitation from Bahraini FM Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who headed the first-ever Bahrani delegation to Israel on Wednesday, Israeli FM Gabi Ashkenazi is set to be the first Israeli minister to make an official visit to Bahrain.
“In this context, I extended an invitation for the foreign minister to join us next month for the Manama Dialogue meeting,” Al Zayani stated at a press conference.
On Wednesday, Al Zayani joined a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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I Welcome FM of Bahrain, Abdullatif al-Zayani and Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations @aviberkow45, on your important visit to Israel. pic.twitter.com/dFf6gZCnbw— גבי אשכנזי – Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) November 18, 2020
Ashkenazi agreed to attend the 2020 Manama Dialogue, a summit of ministers from across the region on December 4-6 hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“I promise to come to Manama very soon to continue our constructive dialogue started today and to promote conversation between our countries and leaders,” he stated.
Ashkenazi also said he hopes that mutual Israeli and Bahraini embassies will be inaugurated by the end of the year.
He tweeted, “I am grateful for the invitation to visit Bahrain in early December and I hope we will be able to inaugurate our Embassy during this visit.”
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I thank the Bahraini government for sending their formal request to open a Bahraini embassy in Israel and for their agreement to establish an Israeli embassy in Manama.
This is definitely a historic moment for our countries.— גבי אשכנזי – Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) November 18, 2020