Israel and Gulf Arab states should cooperate on aviation security and other civilian areas such as transportation, commercial aviation and tourism, Israel's transportation and intelligence minister said Thursday after a visit to Oman.
Muscat and Jerusalem do not maintain diplomatic ties but relations between them have been growing steadily closer. In late October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Persian Gulf state and discussed peace initiatives in the Middle East with Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who pledged his country's help in advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, stalled since 2014.
Transportation and Road Safety Minister Yisrael Katz was in the Omani capital Muscat this week attending a transportation conference alongside dozens of senior officials from around the world, including from Muslim countries that have no ties with Israel, such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Qatar, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen and even Iran.
"In my view, cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states can and should be expanded, Katz said. "Israel also has a lot to offer when it comes to water desalination and irrigation, agriculture and medicine."
He stressed to conference-goers that "we all have the obligation to explore how to improve the quality of life of all the peoples in the region, among other things by investing in transportation infrastructure."
He presented the principles of his ministry's "Railway for peace" plan, saying that "this plan transcends political and ideological disagreements and it does not contradict any existing or future agreement, so it can be promoted in conjunction with diplomatic agreements."
There are no commercial passenger flights between Israel and any of the six Gulf states, though Air India this year started flights to Tel Aviv from India that seemed to lift a 70-year-old ban on flights to or from Israel from using Saudi airspace.
Israel sees the Gulf state as natural allies against regional powerhouse Iran.
Katz said recent public visits by Israeli ministers to the Gulf "are part of a wider trend of strengthening ties between Israel and the Gulf countries based on common interests and a mutual recognition of the potential benefits for both sides, both in terms of contending with common challenges and threats as well as opportunities."
