Starting December 1, Bahraini citizens can apply for a visa to Israel through an online website, while flights between the two countries are expected soon…reports Asian Lite New
Israel and Bahrain have agreed to open embassies, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries said in a joint press conference.
At the briefing on Wednesday, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani, the first Minister from a Gulf country to make an official visit to Israel, said his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi will visit Manama in December, reports Xinhua news agency.
“I was pleased to convey to minister Ashkenazi the Kingdom of Bahrain’s formal request to open an embassy in Israel and to inform him that Israel’s reciprocal request for an embassy in Manama has been approved,” Al-Zayani said.
He also expressed his hopes for the process to “move forward relatively quickly”.
Meanwhile, Ashkenazi said he hoped that the new Israeli embassy will be inaugurated during his visit in December.
Starting December 1, he said, Bahraini citizens can apply for a visa to Israel through an online website, while flights between the two countries are expected soon.
Together with the US and Bahraini teams, Al-Zayani arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, as the first Bahraini government official to visit Israel.
Al-Zayani is also scheduled to meet Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in addition to a trilateral meeting with Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who arrived in Israel as part of his 10-day trip to the Middle East.
A US-brokered agreement between Israel and Bahrain to normalize ties was first announced on September 11 before it was officially signed at the White House on September 15.
A similar deal was also signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The visit follows agreements in the declaration to support peace and the Declaration of Abraham Principles between Bahrain and Israel signed in Washington on September 15…reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
The Kingdom of Bahrain has sent its first official government delegation to Israel on Wednesday as the two countries look to broaden cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran alliance, the media reported.
Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif Al-Zayani headed the delegation aboard Gulf Air flight GF972 – a reference to Israel’s telephone country code – on the airline’s first commercial flight to Tel Aviv, the Arab News reported.
According to the report, Al-Zayani was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem.
The US government under President Donald Trump has been brokering agreements with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan toward normalizing their relations with Israel.
Time has come to depart from the conflicts and instability that afflicted the Middle East for decades and pursue other policies to reach a comprehensive solution that achieves prosperity and development for all, Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani has said.
Al Zayani made the statement as an official Bahraini delegation arrived in Tel Aviv on the first visit of its kind to Israel.
The delegation, headed by Al Zayani, was welcomed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, ministers and officials.
“This visit is a courageous step taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to achieve security, stability and prosperity, with the Kingdom playing its pioneering role to achieve peace in the region and in the world,” Al Zayani said in a statement.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain, with this historic visit to the State of Israel, confirms its policy of commitment to peace as a strategic option through which frameworks for initiatives to promote international cooperation, stability, peace and prosperity in the Middle East region are launched.”
This visit is a strategic start to enhance cooperation between Bahrain and Israel in a way that achieves their shared interests, particularly that it will contribute to launching many cooperation initiatives in various fields and will mark a starting point for other anticipated visits, he added.
“Over the past decades, the Middle East has witnessed conflicts and instability and time has come for us to pursue other policies to reach a comprehensive solution that achieves prosperity and development for all,” Al Zayani said.
The visit follows agreements in the declaration to support peace and the Declaration of Abraham Principles between Bahrain and Israel signed in Washington on September 15.
Bahrain King in UAE
Meanwhile, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, arrived in the UAE on Tuesday. He is accompanied by H.H. Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the King’s Representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs.
Upon his arrival at the Presidential Flight Terminal in Abu Dhabi, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was received by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Present were H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Zayed Al Nahyan, H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination, ZHO, and Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to Bahrain.
They welcomed King Hamad and expressed sincere condolences to him on the death of Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
Sheikh Mohamed and King Hamad joined on Wednesday by King Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for a tripartite summit in Abu Dhabi.
File photo of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa/IANS)
The G20 brings together some of the largest economies, which account for about 85 per cent of the global GDP, to discuss the most challenging socioeconomic global issues. Saudi Arabia, the only Arab member of the group, assumed the presidency of the G20 in December 2019…reports Asian Lite News
Fahad Almubarak, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State and sherpa of Saudi G20, has said that the kingdom is able to execute the full agenda as the G20 presidency amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are honoured to hold the G20 presidency for this year. We had a very busy year and held over 100 meetings of deputies and ministers,” Almubarak told a media briefing in the capital Riyadh, ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, which will be held virtually on November 21 and 22 and chaired by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The G20 brings together some of the largest economies, which account for about 85 per cent of the global GDP, to discuss the most challenging socioeconomic global issues. Saudi Arabia, the only Arab member of the group, assumed the presidency of the G20 in December 2019.
With exceptional challenges posed by the global Covid-19 pandemic this year, the Saudi G20 presidency hosted a historic Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on Covid-19 on March 26, followed by a series of ministerial meetings to tackle the Covid-19 crisis and mitigate its impacts, Xinhua reported.
This extraordinary Summit resulted in swift and unprecedented actions to protect lives, livelihoods and the most vulnerable, including an injection of a total of 11 trillion US dollars into the global economy, according to a G20 statement released on Monday.
The statement also highlighted the 21 billion dollars spent at the outset of the crisis in supporting the health systems and the hunt for a vaccine, and the 14 billion dollars in debt relief for the world’s most vulnerable nations in a move to ensure their ability to focus all resources available on fighting the pandemic.
The upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit will set the foundations for a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, the G20 statement noted.
“2020 is an exceptional year. Covid-19 has taken the world off guard, and the whole world’s economy went into a real pause,” said Majid Al Qasabi, Saudi minister of commerce and acting minister of media, at the media briefing.
Under the theme of “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All,” this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit seeks to “deepen global cooperation,” a separate G20 statement said.
According to the statement, the upcoming Summit will focus on three major topics: Empowering people by creating the conditions in which all, especially women and youth, can live, work and thrive; Safeguarding the planet by fostering collective efforts to protect natural resources; Shaping new frontiers by adopting long-term and bold strategies to share the benefits of innovation and technological advancement. “But there is much more to do,” the statement noted.
Bahrain delegation arrives in Tel Aviv as Kingdom affirms commitment to peace as strategic option (Photo - BNA)
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This came as the UAE top diplomat received the Arab League chief and they discussed the global fight against COVID-19 and reiterated the importance of ensuring pan-Arab collaboration..reports Asian Lite News
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has reviewed the Arab and international conditions and latest developments on the global stage, with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboulgheit.
This came as the UAE top diplomat received the Arab League chief at the ministry’s headquarters where they discussed the global fight against COVID-19 and reiterated the importance of ensuring pan-Arab collaboration in confronting the fallout of the pandemic and supporting international efforts to develop a vaccine to the disease and secure it for all Arab peoples.
Sheikh Abdullah re-affirmed the UAE leadership’s determination to continue to support joint Arab action in a way that fulfils the ambitions of Arab peoples for development, progress and prosperity.
He also commended the efforts of the Arab League and its chief to solidify Arab ranks and enhance their unity in the service of Arab issues
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, discussed the prospects of reviving the Palestinian-Israeli peace track with the UN Envoy for the peace process in the Middle East, Nikolai Miladinov.
This came as the UAE top diplomat welcomed the UN envoy at the ministry’s HQ where they reviewed ways of putting the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis back on track in a way that contributes to strengthening security and stability in the Middle East.
Sheikh Abdullah affirmed that achievement of peace in the Middle East will herald development and progress for the region and help ensure prosperity for its peoples and for generations to come.
He also underlined the UAE’s keenness to further cement cooperation with the United Nations and support all international efforts to promote stability and peace across the world.
The exercise is being held to develop and reinforce the military ties between Egypt and other Arab countries…reports Asian Lite News
Units from the UAE Armed Forces are participating in the joint military exercise, entitled, “Saif Al Arab,” held in Egypt and attended by many friendly countries.
Dubbed ” The Sword of Arabs”, the exercise began on Tuesday and will continue until 26th November at the Mohamed Naguib Military Base and other parts of the Northern Military Region.
Over the past few days, units and equipment arrived from the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan via airbases and marine ports. Saudi Arabia will participate as an observer.
The exercise is one of the leading military exercises in the Arab region and aims to promote military cooperation and joint military action between the Egyptian Armed Forces and the armed forces of other Arab countries using advanced weapons and equipment.
The exercise’s early phases will include holding a coordination conference between participating countries to unify concepts, exchange training expertise, and deploy participating units, in addition to organising several theoretical and practical lectures.
The exercise is being held to develop and reinforce the military ties between Egypt and other Arab countries
Ties between Washington and its strategic NATO ally have remained tense despite a personal friendship between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan…reports Asian Lite News
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a fraught visit to Istanbul on Tuesday that included no official meetings and an agenda focused on religious freedoms that Ankara dismissed as “irrelevant.” Arab News Reports
Ties between Washington and its strategic NATO ally have remained tense despite a personal friendship between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A group of 20 to 30 Turks shouted “Yankee go home!” as the evangelical Christian Pompeo headed in for a meeting with the Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople – the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox world – to express his “strong position” on religious freedoms.
Earlier, Pompeo had publicly criticized Erdogan’s controversial conversion of Istanbul’s emblematic Hagia Sophia monument into a mosque in July.
The US administration and Europe need to work jointly on addressing actions led by Turkey in the Middle East over the past few months, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told French daily newspaper Le Figaro. Arab news reports
“France’s president Emmanuel Macron and I agree that Turkey’s recent actions have been very aggressive,” Pompeo said, citing Turkey’s recent support to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia as well as military moves in Libya and the Mediterranean.
“Europe and the US must work together to convince Erdogan such actions are not in the interest of his people,” Pompeo said, referring to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the cabinet in an online meeting that a Fatah delegation would head to Cairo to discuss with about elections with the Hamas….reports Asian Lite News
Leaders of the Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah have resumed reconciliation talks in Cairo aimed at ending the internal division between the two sides and achieving unity.
Abdulatif al-Qanoua, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told reporters on Monday that the two movements’ delegations had convened on Monday afternoon in Cairo to continue their reconciliation dialogue that has been going on for more than a month, reports Xinhua news agency.
“We will work to overcome obstacles and solve some of the existing problems, and we are all concerned with the success of our path of reconciliation,” al-Qanoua said.
Earlier on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the cabinet in an online meeting that a Fatah delegation would head to Cairo to discuss with about elections with the Hamas.
“I hope for speeding up an agreement on setting a date for holding consecutive and inclusive elections for the Legislative Council and the Presidency to strengthen democratic life and end of internal division,” Ishtaye said.
After Hamasseized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, an internal political and geographical division over administrative, financial and security issues has remained between the two sides despite a series of Arab and international mediations.
In March 2018, then Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an explosion when his convoy entered Gaza, an incident that was blamed on Hamas.
Despite a history of strife, Fatah and Hamas recently announced their agreement to put differences aside.
