ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain welcomed on Saturday the announcement of normalizing relations between Sudan and Israel.

In a statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry described the announcement as “an important step toward enhancing security and prosperity in the region".

It said the move to normalize the Sudanese-Israeli relations “would expand the scope of economic, commercial, scientific and diplomatic cooperation”.

The Bahraini Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, described the announcement as “an additional historical step on the path for achieving peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region”.

It went on to hail US efforts for facilitating the normalization of the Sudanese-Israeli relations.

On Friday, Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister, Omar Gamareldin said the transitional government agreed to normalize relations with Israel. He, however, said parliament must ratify the agreement.

Sudan becomes the fifth Arab country to agree to establish official relations with Israel after Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994 and both the UAE and Bahrain in 2020.

On Sept. 15, Bahrain and the UAE agreed to establish full diplomatic, cultural and commercial relations with Israel after signing controversial agreements at the White House.

The deals have drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinians, who say the accords ignore their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara