Bahraini minister: We will make peace with Israel a success story

“I believe strongly that the continuity and prosperity of this peace should be filtering down to common citizens of Bahrain and Israel.”

DECEMBER 2, 2020 22:07

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (R) and Bahraini Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, December 2, 2020 (photo credit: SHLOMI AMSALEM/GPO) — Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (R) and Bahraini Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, December 2, 2020

(photo credit: SHLOMI AMSALEM/GPO)

Israel and Bahrain are working to quickly bring the normalization of their ties to fruition, Bahraini Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani said in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Al Zayani said “the whole world is watching, and we are determined to make this a success story and a case study for others.”

The Bahraini minister led the first-ever trade delegation from his country to Israel, since normalization was announced in September. He arrived on Tuesday with 40 government officials and businesspeople. Israel and Bahrain signed agreements to cooperate in tourism and culture during Al Zayani’s visit.

Al Zayani met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday.

Peace between Bahrain and Israel “leaves this world a better place for future generations than the one we inherited,” he told Netanyahu. “Peace has been signed, the foundation has been laid. It is now upon us... to move forward and forge peace by having direct, constant integration between business communities, which we believe will filter down to the common citizen.

“We are genuine about this and fully committed.... We’re moving at quite a fast pace because we want to catch up on lost time,” Al Zayani said.

The Israeli and Bahraini economies are diverse, with many opportunities for synergy to improve citizens’ lives, the minister told Ashkenazi.

Al Zayani said he is “eager” for direct flights between Bahrain and Tel Aviv to begin, and as such, Gulf Air CEO Waleed Al Alawi is a member of the delegation, as is Association of Bahrain Travel and Tour Agents chairman Jehad Amin.

Netanyahu said peace between Israel and Bahrain is being realized “because of the courageous decision made by [Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa] and because of the extraordinary energy and initiative of Bahrainis and Israelis who are eager to raise one another up, get to know one another and do business with one another.”

The prime minister hailed the economic benefits of “real peace,” and expressed hope that those successes will lead more countries to want to normalize relations with Israel.

Netanyahu and Al Zayani also discussed the news that the UK approved Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, and the Bahraini minister said he had already received two doses of an inoculation against COVID-19.

“Health, peace and prosperity,” Netanyahu said. “You could ask for nothing more.”

Ashkenazi spoke of the importance of peace, saying that as someone who spent decades in the IDF, becoming its chief of staff, he is “fully aware of the price of the alternative.”

“I am happy and proud and privileged that during the time I am serving as foreign minister of Israel we are seeing the beginning of change in the region and bringing peace,” he said.

“We have a desire to promote change in the Middle East, change that brings with it peace, stability, security and economic prosperity,” Ashkenazi said. “There are many, many more collaborations to come.”

Economy Minister Amir Peretz and Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen greeted Al Zayani on his arrival in Israel on Tuesday.

Farkash-Hacohen told The Jerusalem Post that the visiting minister is going to “meet all the people in the Israeli tourism sector” and spoke about upcoming “joint tourism packages.

“Tens of thousands of tourists” will arrive from the UAE and Bahrain to Israel, she said.

Hagay Hacohen contributed to this report.