Bennett Lands in Bahrain Becoming 1st Israeli PM to Visit
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed Monday evening in Bahrain; it is the first-ever trip made to Bahrain by an Israeli prime minister and comes after an invitation by the prime minister made late last year.. Bennett’s office announced the trip just hours before the prime minister took off for the island nation. Bennett is scheduled to meet Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and its prime minister, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa during the 24-hour visit.
Bennett was received with an honor guard by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Industry, the Head of Protocol, the Israeli Ambassador to Bahrain and other senior officials.
“I think that at this stormy time, it is important for our region to send a message of cooperation, of goodwill and of standing together against threats and building bridges to peace,” Bennett said before boarding an airplane at Ben-Gurion Airport.
Bennett and the Bahraini leaders are scheduled to discuss ways to strengthen ties between the countries. Bennett and Prince Salman also will “discuss the importance of peace, development, and prosperity in the region, and in particular in promoting political and economic issues, with an emphasis on the areas of technology and innovation,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Bahrain normalized relations with Israel by signing on to the US-backed Abraham Accords in 2022.