Israel on Saturday established relations with Bhutan, a majority-Buddhist nation neighboring India, as it looks to continue to expand its diplomatic links internationally.
Israel’s accord with the Himalayan country did not appear to be related to its budding ties under US-sponsored accords with Arab and Muslim countries, although Israeli officials sought to portray it as evidence of its growing acceptance abroad.
The agreement follows several years of secret contacts between Israel and Bhutan with the aim of establishing relations, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“Israel’s circle of recognition is growing and expanding,” Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi said. “The establishment of relations between us and the Kingdom of Bhutan will serve as another milestone in deepening Israel’s ties in Asia.”
Bhutan relied on India for guidance on its foreign and defense policy until a friendship treaty was revised in 2007. It maintains diplomatic relations with about 53 countries.
A signing ceremony was held between the Israeli and Bhutanese ambassadors to India on Saturday at the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, a joint news release posted on the Bhutanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site said.
“The establishment of diplomatic relations [will] create new avenues for cooperation between the two countries in water management, technology, human resource development, agricultural sciences and other areas of mutual benefit,” it said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the agreement, adding that there had been contacts with other countries that wanted to establish relations.
Israel and Morocco on Thursday agreed to normalize ties in a deal brokered with US help, making it the fourth Arab country after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
However, Morocco’s main Islamist groups on Saturday rejected Rabat’s plan to normalize ties with Israel.
The religious branch of the co-ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD), the Unity and Reform Movement, said in a statement that the move was “deplorable” and denounced “all attempts at normalization and the Zionist infiltration.”
The PJD was more nuanced, endorsing Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s support for the Palestinian cause, while reiterating its “firm position against the Zionist occupation.”
Unlike its government coalition partners that backed the deal, it took the PJD two days to react after disagreements emerged between the party’s senior leadership, a source close to the matter said.
A core element of the deal brokered by US President Donald Trump was US recognition of Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the Western Sahara.
A decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks to establish an independent state.
“The United States made an important proclamation that stresses Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces and opens new horizons for strengthening Morocco’s position in international circles. It also further isolates the adversaries of our territorial integrity,” the party said in a statement.
King Mohammed VI has the last say over major diplomatic decisions.
On Friday, Morocco’s outlawed Adl Wal Ihssane, one of the largest opposition groups in the country, said normalization amounts to a “stab from the back to the Palestinian cause.”
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