Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night spoke with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa over the phone about strengthening the relations between their two countries.
Prime Minister Netanyahu related: “I just spoke with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. This was our second conversation; it was very friendly. Both of us are very moved by the fact that we can bring peace to our peoples and our countries in a very short time. Therefore, he also invited me to make an official visit to Bahrain soon. I will do so, on your behalf, with pleasure.”
Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 51, is the heir apparent and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defense Force.
His father, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 70, has been the monarch of Bahrain since 1999, initially reigning as emir, and from 2002, as the country’s first king. He is the son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the previous and first emir. The country has been ruled by the Al Khalifa dynasty since 1783.
Prince Salman earned a BA in Political Science from the American University in Washington DC in 1992, followed by an M.Phil degree in History and Philosophy of Science from Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, England, in 1994.
Prime Minister Netanyahu completed a bachelor’s degree in architecture under the name Ben Nitay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He then earned a master’s degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1976.