Israel wants free trade agreement with Bahrain, FM tells Arab media

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is looking to seal the establishment of a free trade zone between Israel and Bahrain during his first-ever visit to Manama, he told Bahraini paper Al-Ayyam on Monday morning.

"We are looking forward to [signing] the free trade zone agreement and deepening the relationship between [Israel and Bahrain]," Cohen said. "The goal of the visit? It comes in order to continue building, expanding and deepening the friendship...while strengthening agreements in the economic and trade fields.

"My vision is a Middle East in which people live in peace and security. To ensure economic prosperity, job opportunities, and create a new reality," he told Al-Ayyam.

When asked about the importance of a free trade agreement with Bahrain, Cohen responded that "the Book of Ezekiel dealt with trade with 'Arab princes and princes.' Of course, we aspire to renew this history and create trade corridors with a focus on the benefits of relations."

Eli Cohen: No one wants peace with Palestinians more than Israel

Cohen also talked of Israeli plans to "expand the circle of peace" within the Abraham Accords agreements, amid US-led normalization talks between the Jewish State and Saudi Arabia. "We hope that more countries will join the Abraham Accords in the coming months."

Challenged to solve the issue of Palestinian statehood, which is perceived in the Arab world as an obstacle to full peace with Israel, Cohen claimed that "there is no one in the world more interested in ending the issue with the Palestinians than Israel."

"I believe that the inclusion of Arab countries in the circle of peace is what will improve the possibility of reaching a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict" he was quoted by Al-Ayyam as saying.