Israel And Bhutan

From Reuters:

“Israel and Bhutan establish diplomatic relations”

 Israel established relations on Saturday with Bhutan, a majority-Buddhist nation neighbouring 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 U.S.-sponsored accords with Arab and Muslim countries, though 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, Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Israel's circle of recognition is growing and expanding," Israeli Foreign Minister 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 defence policy until a friendship treaty was revised in 2007. It maintains diplomatic relations with around 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 press release posted on the Bhutanese foreign ministry's website 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 there had been contacts with other countries which wanted to establish relations. Israel and Morocco on Thursday agreed to normalise ties in a deal brokered with U.S. 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.

^ This is good news. I only hope more countries establish diplomatic and trade links with Israel.

 Peace Treaties and Recognition of Israel:  Bahrain (2020), Bhutan (2020), Egypt (1979), Jordan (1994), Kosovo (2020),  Morocco (2020), Sudan (2020), United Arab Emirates (2020),

Countries That Do Not Currently Recognize Israel:  Afghanistan, Cuba (Did recognize Israel from 1950–1973), Iran (Did recognize Israel from 1948–1951, 1953–1979), Maldives (Did recognize Israel from 1965-1974), Mali (Did recognize Israel from 1960–1973), Mauritania (Did recognize Israel from 2000–2009), North Korea (Never has recognized Israel), Niger (Did recognize Israel from 1960–1973, 1996–2002),  Venezuela (Did recognize Israel from 1950–2009)

Countries That Do Not Recognize Israel’s Right to Exist and Refuse Entrance To Israelis:   Algeria,  Bangladesh, Brunei,  Comoros, Djibouti, Iran,  Iraq (except Iraq’s Kurdish Region),  Kuwait, Lebanon,  Libya, Malaysia,  Pakistan,  Saudi Arabia,  Somalia, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Countries That Do Not Allow Any Nationality To Enter If They Have Evidence Of Visiting Israel:  Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

Note: Israel no longer puts Entrance or Exit Stamps in Passports. They give you a separate Entrance and a separate Exit form instead so there is no direct evidence of visiting Israel  (I got mine in October 2017.) ^

https://news.yahoo.com/israel-establishes-diplomatic-tie-bhutan-155401159.html