December 12th, Israel and Bhutan established full diplomatic relations.
Ron Malka, the Israeli ambassador to India, and the Bhutanese ambassador Vetsop Namgyel signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On the same day, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that Israel and Bhutan have been in secret contact with the establishment of diplomatic relations for the past few years.
Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi said, “The establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Bhutan is a milestone and marks that Israel will continue to expand its ties with Asian countries.”
According to Ron Maleka, Israel’s ambassador to India, he signed a diplomatic relations agreement with Bhutan’s ambassador to India, Vetsop Namyal, in New Delhi on the 12th, which he said was a “historic day”.
The two countries issued a joint statement saying that cooperation will be carried out in the fields of economy, technology and agricultural development, and cultural and tourism exchanges will be strengthened.
Reuters analysis said that although Israeli officials want to use the establishment of diplomatic relations to show that Israel has been widely accepted and recognized by the international community, Israel’s diplomatic relations-building move with Bhutan has nothing to do with the recent relevant practices of the United States.
For some time, the Trump administration has been actively promoting the recognition of Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations with it. Under the active activities of the United States, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other Muslim countries have recently normalized their relations with Israel.
In addition, Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Indonesia, which has always opposed Israel, may also follow suit and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Bhutan held its first general election in 2008 and became a constitutional monarchy. In 2017, Gilad Cohen, the head of the Asia-Pacific region of Israel, became the most senior Israeli official visiting Bhutan.
During his visit, he met with the Prime Minister of the country.
