A Zionist delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Israeli enemy arrived to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in the first public and official visit in the history of the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, Hebrew media reported on Sunday.
The visit comes in conjunction with international reports on negotiations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv to normalize relations with US mediation.
The delegation would attend a meeting of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), The Times of Israel website reported, citing an Israeli official.
The same source explained that the delegation – which includes nine people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – is in the Kingdom to attend the meeting of the international organization as “observers”.
The American website “Axios” had previously reported that a delegation from the Foreign Ministry and the Israel Antiquities Authority had arrived in Riyadh to participate in the meeting of the UNESCO Committee.
This is the first time that an Israeli government delegation has visited Saudi Arabia officially and publicly.
Diplomatic correspondent for Israel’s Kan TV, Amichai Stein, called the visit a historic event.
Israel formally withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, after accusing the organization of “bias against it.”
However, the country’s archaeological sites remain on the World Heritage List, and Israel still sends representatives to the World Heritage Committee, which is responsible for identifying those sites
