Bahrain's Foreign Minister announced Wednesday afternoon that his country is preparing to open an embassy in Israel, just months after formal relations were established between the two countries.
"We are initiating the process of opening an embassy in Israel," said Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Rashid Al-Zayani after arriving in Jerusalem Wednesday.
At the same time, Israel confirmed that it has received approval from Bahrain to open an embassy in the Bahraini capital city of Manama.
Al-Zayani landed in Israel Wednesday morning, leading the first delegation ever from Bahrain to the Jewish state.
He was accompanied by Trump envoy Avi Berkowitz, and met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue and White) at Ben Gurion International Airport, before heading to Jerusalem for planned meetings with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
During a joint press conference with Al-Zayani, Ashkenazi hailed the Bahraini delegation's arrival as "historic".
"This visit by the Foreign Minister of Bahrain as the head of the first official Bahraini delegation to Israel marks yet another historic day in the Middle East."
"The whole region has undergone huge positive changes in the last few months and your visit here today is a symbol of the peace that all of Israel has dreamed of."
Ashkenazi added that Israel hopes to open an embassy in Bahrain by the end of the year, and is optimistic that the Bahraini embassy in Israel will also be opened by year's end.
"In our conversations, we agreed to open an Israeli embassy in Manama and a Bahraini embassy in Israel as soon as possible."
"I hope that by the end of the year we will be able to hold ceremonies to mark their openings. I have instructed Israeli diplomats to continue to promote economic relations between our two countries, so that each and every one of the citizens of Israel and Bahrain can enjoy the fruits of peace."