IRIA News

Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz arrived in Riyadh to attend a UN conference, marking the first-ever visit from the Israeli minister to Saudi Arabia as the speculations of normalization of relations between the two countries become stronger.

According to Katz’s office, the minister would stay in Saudi Arabia for two days leading his delegation at the UN World Tourism Organization event. The visit comes at a highly significant time as the U.S. brokering a deal with Saudi Arabia for normalization of relations with Israel.

“They received me very nicely, we landed in the afternoon, there were lots of people in the welcome committee, everybody looked the same, it was wonderful,” Katz told an Israeli news channel after landing in Saudi Arabia.

“Tourism is a bridge between nations,” the minister said in an official statement released by his office. “Cooperation in the field of tourism has the potential to bring hearts together, and economic progress.”

“I will work to advance cooperation, tourism, and the foreign relations of Israel,” he added. He did not respond to the question of whether the Israeli flag would be displayed at the United Nations event in Saudi Arabia.

Initially, Saudi Arabia did not make any comments about the presence of the Israeli minister at the event, however, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed bin Aqil Al Khateeb publicly noted the presence of his Israeli counterpart in comments at the start of the UN World Tourism Organization conference in Riyadh.

“There is a delegation here in the country for the first time. I hope they were received well. Welcome,” Khateeb said adding that “Everyone in this room understands that tourism is the bridge between people and between cultures.”

Israel’s tourism minister is also holding bilateral meetings at the sidelines of the event with his counterparts from Monaco, Malta, Albania, and Greece, as well as the economy minister of Kyrgyzstan and the trade minister of Bahrain.

Normalization of relation

Biden Administration has been pushing Riyadh and Tel Aviv to normalize their relations. During an interview at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week, the Suadi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that “every day we get closer” to reaching a normalization deal with Israel.

At the same event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was “on the cusp” of achieving a historic deal with Saudi Arabia.

The visit by the Israeli tourism minister comes only a few days after the arrival of a delegation from Israel’s Foreign Ministry for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 45th session. It was the first time that Israeli diplomats traveled to Saudi Arabia.

Next week, Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi will also land in Saudi Arabia to attend the Universal Postal Union’s 2023 Extraordinary Congress in Riyadh. Karhi will speak at the UN conference, which will start next week.

Saudi envoy to Palestine

The potential normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel faces skepticism by Palestine. To address the concerns of the Palestinian officials, Saudi Arabia’s non-resident ambassador to Palestine Naif bin Bandar Al Sudairi visited the West Bank region and met with high-ranking officials and leaders from the Palestinian administration. This was the first time in three decades that a Saudi official visited the occupied West Bank.

Al Sudairi met with the President of the Palestinian Administration Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki. The two sides praised the depth of the deep-rooted historical and fraternal relations between Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

أهلا وسهلا بك في بلدك فلسطين 🇵🇸🇸🇦@naif63_2 @KSAMOFA pic.twitter.com/kcvAEYRHSh

— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) September 26, 2023

“The Palestinian matter is a fundamental pillar,” Naif bin Bandar Al Sudairi, said after meeting top Palestinian diplomat Riyad al-Maliki in Ramallah. “And it’s certain that the Arab [Peace] Initiative, which was presented by the kingdom in 2002, is a cornerstone of any upcoming deal,” he added.