Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latef Al Zayani said on Sunday that his country was “truly looking forward” to working with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and his prospective government, JNS reported.
Zayani noted that Manama was seeking “to continue working on the successful achievements” with Israel, and emphasized his conviction that Netanyahu believes in peace.
His comments came during a historic visit by President Isaac Herzog to Bahrain. Herzog became the first Israeli head of state to make an official visit to Bahrain, beginning a two-day trip that will include a stop in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Several weeks ago, Netanyahu spoke to the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who called to congratulate Netanyahu on the results of the elections in Israel.
“We agreed to strengthen relations between the countries. I told the Crown Prince that we have tremendous opportunities and that I hope to see him soon in Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on his Twitter account.
After the November 1 election in Israel, the diplomatic adviser to Bahrain's king said that Bahrain will continue to build its relationship with Israel.
The diplomatic adviser, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said Netanyahu's win was "normal and always expected".
"We have an agreement with Israel, part of the Abraham Accords, and we will stick to our agreement and we expect it to continue in the same line and continue building our partnership together," he told reporters.
Bahrain and Israel normalized ties as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020. In February, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a historic visit to Bahrain.
At the Negev summit which took place in March of this year, Israel and Bahrain signed a Warm Peace agreement between the two countries, which is a roadmap for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries over the next decade.