Free Trade Talks with Bahrain Move Forward

Then-Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, then-U.S. President Donald Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, at the Abraham Accords signing ceremony at the White House, September 15, 2020. Avi Ohayon/GPO 

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Progress has been made toward a free trade agreement between Israel and Bahrain, as the two countries completed the first round of talks, Israel’s Economy Ministry said on Monday. 

If the deal is reached, it will be Israel’s second such agreement with an Arab state under the Abraham Accords, following an FTA deal with the United Arab Emirates in May. 

The negotiating teams met last week in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, where they discussed “various issues including trade in goods, regulation and standardization, customs, trade in services, government procurement, e-commerce and the protection of intellectual property rights,” the ministry’s statement said. 

In 2021, the volume of Israeli exports to Bahrain reached $3.8 million, while imports from the Gulf country to the Jewish state amounted to $3.5 million. 

The next round of talks is scheduled for December, likely to be held in Israel.

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