Israel and Bahrain signed a framework agreement on Sunday to establish full-fledged ties in Manama, hours after Israeli officials arrived in the kingdom on a historic flight from Tel Aviv.
US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin represented the Trump administration in the ceremony, while Israeli National Security Adviser Meri Ben Shabbat was the head of the Israeli delegation.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The signing comes just a month after the Jewish state the Gulf island nation agreed to establish official ties as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which lay the groundwork for peace between Israel and two Arab states: the UAE and Bahrain.
Officials in Jerusalem confirmed that the new framework agreement would pave the way for diplomatic and economic ties, as well as an exchange of ambassadors and the creation of embassies. The agreement on Sunday spells out a host of various mini-agreements aimed at fleshing out the accords from September.
During the ceremony, Ben-Shabbat turned to his Bahraini hosts and said, "Today we are one family, the family of the sons of Abraham." Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani echoed that sentiment, saying that the "positive and healthy relations that have been formed between the two nations have helped made the Abraham Accords possible as well as brought about peace between the peoples. We are following the path set by Abraham, our common patriarch."
Al-Zayani further said that "It was indeed a historic visit, to start opening relations between both countries."
Al-Zayani touched elbows with Ben-Shabbat, who described the step as a "promising beginning" and said the Israeli delegation was accepted "with open arms, with warmth and cordiality."
US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin described the accord as an important step in regional stability and "just the beginning of the work that is going forward".
"I think the opportunity is way beyond just investments," Mnuchin earlier told reporters on the El Al flight. "It's in technology, building various different businesses and in the case of Bahrain as well, really expanding the opportunities for them quite, quite, quite dramatically."
The ceremony also saw the signing of several memoranda of understanding. They cover trade, air services, telecommunications, finance, banking and agriculture, according to a list provided by a Bahraini official.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that more countries are expected to join this initiative with Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the new thaw in relations between Israel and Arab countries is proof that Israel can make peace without making territorial concessions and that normalization was not contingent on progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks. Both Israel and the Sunni Gulf states share a concern over Iran's malign influence and meddling in the region, and the newly announced ties reflect this de facto alliance.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
