MANAMA: Bahrain’s Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa said on Monday normalising ties with Israel protects Bahrain’s interests and strengthens its strategic partnership with the US, amid an ongoing threat from Iran.
“It is not an abandonment of the Palestinian cause. It is to strengthen Bahrainis’ security and economic stability,” he said in a statement.
“Iran has chosen to behave in a dominating way in several forms and has become a constant danger that harms our internal security,” Al Khalifa said, adding that it was wise to forestall dangers.
Bahrain has suffered ongoing unrest since a failed uprising in 2011. It is also striving to bring down its deficit.
Bailout
Manama was bailed out in 2018 with a $10 billion aid package from wealthy Gulf neighbours to avoid a credit crunch. The IMF has said it expects Bahrain’s fiscal deficit to jump to 15.7 per cent of GDP this year from 10.6 per cent in 2019.
Bahrain and Israel’s defence ministers held their first publicly acknowledged phone call on Monday, and another pair of ministers separately discussed commercial possibilities between the two countries.