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Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz was welcomed into Bahrain by the Bahraini Minister of Defence Affairs H.E. LTG. Abdullah Bin Hassan Al Nuaimi, as his plane landed in Manama, the capital city on Wednesday evening, in the Defence Minister’s first official visit to the country.
In a tweet Gantz stated that he was “honoured” to be in the country and was “looking forward” to meeting the Bahraini leaders.
Formalising the security relationship that began between Israel and Bahrain after the signing of the Abraham Accords, the Defence Ministers signed a memorandum of understanding. According to Gantz’s office, the memorandum “will help advance intelligence cooperation, a framework for exercises, and cooperation between the countries’ defence industries”.
Following the signing, Al Nuaimi presented Gantz with a ceremonial sword and he met with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa as well as with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
In a speech at the signing ceremony, Gantz celebrated how “only a year after the signing of the accords, we are already here signing a significant security agreement, which will allow robust cooperation and strengthen the security of both countries and of the entire region”.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli and Bahraini Defence Ministers visited the US Navy’s 5th fleet where they were met by Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. The fleet is located in Bahrain, less than 200 kilometres from the Islamic Republic’s Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran. According to Gantz, the trilateral meeting between the three countries, is a sign of the “deepening cooperation [that] will help defend against the common enemy”.
Commander Cooper was quoted as saying: “the importance of today is the strengthening of Israeli-Bahrani military ties… Having people and nations come together in a partnered way with a common vision is always a great strength. We will clearly always be better off when we are teaming together”.
