Education Minister Yoav Kish this morning (Wednesday) congratulated Tourism Minister Haim Katz on his historic visit to Saudi Arabia and his participation in the UN conference in Riyadh. In his words, he referred to normalization talks with Saudi Arabia, saying that "everyone understands that something very significant and dramatic is going to happen here."
"I congratulate Minister Haim Katz, the first minister who went on a formal trip by a minister in the State of Israel to Saudi Arabia," he said. "This came after the statements of the Prime Minister at the United Nations and of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (Mohammed bin Salman - AB). I think everyone understands that there is going to be something very significant and dramatic here, and I wish the State of Israel to be able to lead this to significant political agreements."
As mentioned, Tourism Minister Haim Katz began his diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia this morning when he participated in the United Nations World Tourism Conference held in Riyadh. During the conference, Katz will hold meetings with his counterparts from around the world, to deepen ties and create new collaborations in the field of tourism.
The Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, commented on Katz's arrival at the beginning of the conference and said: "There are delegations here that have come to our country for the first time. I hope they received you well. Welcome." He also emphasized that "everyone in this room understands that tourism is a bridge between people and between cultures."
As published last night, Katz's visit is the first official visit by an Israeli minister to the Saudi Kingdom, as it comes against the background of rapprochement and normalization talks with Israel. Next week, Minister of Communications Shlomo Karai and Knesset member David Bitan also left for Saudi Arabia, where they are expected to participate in the World Postal Conference and hold meetings that will deal with "collaborations in the field of communications".