Israeli, Bahraini foreign ministers hold 1st public meeting in US

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday announced that he had met his Bahraini counterpart publicly during a visit to Washington. This was the first meeting between the two countries that do not have diplomatic relations, AFP reported.

“Yesterday, I met publicly with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain [Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa],” Katz tweeted. “I will continue to work with [Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu] to advance Israel’s relations with the Gulf countries.”

The meeting “was coordinated behind the scenes by the US State Department,” AFP reported, citing an Israeli Foreign Ministry statement.

Israel has diplomatic relations with only two Arab countries – Egypt and Jordan.