Israel’s second visit to Saudi Arabia in a week
As normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia continued, an Israeli minister traveled to Saudi Arabia for the second time for an international meeting.
According to the written statement made by the Israeli Ministry of Communications, Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi and the Chairman of the Economy Committee of the Israeli Parliament, MP David Bitan; A delegation of 14 people, including officials from the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions, arrived in Riyadh yesterday to attend the meeting of the Universal Postal Union, which operates under the umbrella of the United Nations. (UN).
Karhi will reportedly deliver a speech and hold contacts at the conference here.
This was the second visit in a week by the Israeli government to Saudi Arabia, with which Tel Aviv does not have diplomatic relations.
Israeli Tourism Minister Haim Katz also traveled to Saudi Arabia last week to attend the World Tourism Organization meeting under the UN umbrella. Katz’s visit was recorded as the first visit by an Israeli minister to Saudi Arabia.
STANDARDIZATION EFFORTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic relations. However, the US administration is mediating a similar agreement between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, as in the normalization agreements reached between Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Sudan and Israel.
The second Israeli minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia came after “positive messages” given by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding negotiations for a normalization agreement between the two countries.
In his recent interview with Fox television, Bin Salman stated that they were “closer every day” to the normalization agreement with Israel. Netanyahu also stated in his speech to the UN General Assembly that “they are on the verge of a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia.”
Nayef Bandar al-Sudeyri, the first Saudi-appointed ambassador to Palestine, arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank last week and presented his letter of credence to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The ambassador’s visit was recorded as Saudi Arabia’s first official visit to the Palestinian administration. (AA)