Israel and Bahrain announced on Tuesday the start of negotiations to reach a free trade agreement between the two countries, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbivai held official talks on Monday with her Bahraini counterpart to establish a free trade agreement between Tel Aviv and Manama, the Israeli Economy Ministry said in a statement.
Barbivai said the agreement will help strengthen bilateral relations and help “remove barriers, expand economic cooperation and build further bridges between the two countries.”
Amidst ongoing "Israel's" crimes against #Palestinians, #Bahrain expands economic relations with the occupation state.#Palestine https://t.co/o7VpwpgV0W
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 20, 2022
According to the statement, trade exchange between Israel and Bahrain boomed to $7.5 million in 2021, with Israeli exports to Bahrain totaling $4 million in the fields of precious metals, chemical industry products, and electric engineering machines, while Israeli imports from Bahrain were estimated at $3.5 million.
Bahrain was among the four Arab countries that signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize their relations with Israel in 2020. The other countries were the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco.
(MEMO, PC, SOCIAL)
