The Israeli foreign minister agreed with his Bahraini counterpart on Monday to boost trade relations during his first visit to a Gulf Arab country.

“Our foreign minister and I agreed that we should work together to increase direct flights, tourism, trade volume, and investment,” Eli Cohen said during the ceremony to inaugurate Israel's new embassy.

The embassy in the capital Manama will replace the first embassy Israel opened in 2021, a year after it established diplomatic relations with Bahrain as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Under the accords, Israel also established ties with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

Monday’s ceremony was attended by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al Zayani, who said the event signified a “shared commitment to strengthening and cultivating bilateral relations”.

“As we build into deeper diplomatic endeavours and engage in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, the establishment of this new embassy assumes a pivotal role in our collaboration,” he told reporters.

In addition to Cohen, a delegation of more than 30 high-tech, logistics, and real estate companies arrived in Bahrain on Sunday.

Earlier on Monday, he met Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and discussed “the importance of advancing a free trade agreement and projects to connect youths in Israel and Bahrain”, Cohen posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“We look forward to expanding the circle of peace and normalisation to other states in the area,” he said.

Cohen also visited Bahrain's Fifth Fleet base to discuss maritime security cooperation, according to US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).

Vice-Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, said the visit "underscores our expanding partnership with Israel".