Defense Minister Benny Gantz began a surprise visit on Wednesday to Bahrain, his spokesperson said, ahead of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Gulf nation on security matters, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020. This is the first visit by a defense minister to a Gulf nation that signed peace with Israel.
The MOU that was to be signed on Wednesday is the first such between Israel and a Gulf state. He is expected meet with the Bahraini monarch during the visit.
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Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett paid a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, the first official visit to the country by an Israeli leader since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in 2020.
Israel, Bahrain and the UAE had long nurtured cooperation before they formalized diplomatic relations as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords. The agreements established diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab states: the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
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