The Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz went to Bahrain on Wednesday for an unannounced visit. The visit was just reported after his arrival to the capital of Manama.
Sharing a post through his Twitter account, Gantz said, “I just landed in Manama, Bahrain for an official visit to the Kingdom. I was welcomed by my Bahraini counterpart, Minister of Defense Affairs H.E. LTG. Abdullah bin Hassan Al Nuaimi in a remarkable ceremony. Honored to be here and looking forward to meeting the Kingdom’s leaders.”
According to the statement issued by the Israeli foreign ministry, Gantz would finalize a security cooperation agreement with the Bahraini authorities during his two-day official visit.
Yet, the statement regarding Gantz’s visit did not disclose any further information about the scope of the security agreement.
Benny Gantz’s visit to Bahrain came amid increasing tension in the Gulf after Yemen’s Houthi group had carried out missile attacks targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE authorities reported on Monday that a missile attack was intercepted and destroyed. The attack occurred during Israel’s President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Abu Dhabi.
Before Gantz, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also paid an official visit in September, as the top-level visit following the normalization deal was reached between the two countries.
