November 18 - Al Arabiya reported that US Middle East envoy, Avi Berkowitz, "will lead a US delegation to Bahrain and Israel this week to discuss expanded economic cooperation between the two countries, a senior White House official said on Monday." He will join a flight from Bahrain to Israel.
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Bahrain’s foreign minister will arrive in Tel Aviv with Berkowitz on Wednesday morning, November 18, and will take part "in a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo," reports say. He will be the first senior official to come to Israel from Bahrain after the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Gulf Air flight will land at around 10:30am. Gulf Air may begin regular flights to Israel.
Two trilateral summits
While Bahrain, US officials and Israeli officials are meeting in Israel, a second important trilateral meeting is taking place in the UAE with Bahrain and Jordan. Arab News reports that "Jordan’s King Abdullah II has traveled to the UAE to take part in a summit on Wednesday with the Bahraini king and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi." He flew in on Tuesday at the invitation of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, according to a royal court statement. “His Highness King Abdullah will leave the Jordanian homeland and go to Abu Dhabi to participate in a trilateral summit which will include Bahraini king His Highness Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa and His Highness [UAE] Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan,” the statement said. Arab News notes that "this will be the first official state visit by King Abdullah to the UAE since the Emirates decided to normalize ties with Israel in August."
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain also arrived in the UAE on Tuesday. Khaleej Times noted that "He was accompanied by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the King’s Representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs."
These important summits are important and come in the context of Pompeo's trip the region and recent developments.
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