Israeli Defense Minister arrives for first visit to Persian Gulf country

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz arrived on Wednesday with the first ever official visit to Bahrain. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Jewish state.

"Defence Minister Benny Gantz arrived in Manama, Bahrain this afternoon on an official visit," the statement said.

This is "the first official visit of the head of the Israeli defense department to the country of the Persian Gulf," the press service noted.

The Ministry of Defense indicated that "during the visit, Minister [Gantz] is expected to hold meetings with high-ranking representatives of the Bahraini defense department and the leadership of the kingdom." Gantz is accompanied on the trip by the commander of the Israeli Navy, the military secretary, the director of the political and military-political bureau of the ministry, and the head of staff. “The plane with the delegation became the first Israeli Air Force plane to land in Bahrain,” the press service added.

In September 2020 in Washington, the Israeli side, with the active mediation of the United States, signed documents on normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Prior to this tripartite deal, known as the Abraham Accords, the Arab Jewish state had diplomatic relations only with Egypt and Jordan.