Mnuchin: Trump win would bring peace between more countries and Israel

Mnuchin called the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain “the most extraordinary outcome in the last 25 years.”

More Arab and Muslim countries are likely to make peace if US President Donald Trump is reelected, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said on a flight to Bahrain with a US-Israeli delegation on Sunday.

“We are very hopeful there will be other announcements,” he said. “Our expectation is, obviously, that President Trump wins and this continues… There is a lot more in the works.”

Asked if a Trump loss would stop the momentum of Arab states establishing ties with Israel, he said: “I surely hope not.”

The Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are “the most extraordinary outcome in the last 25 years,” Mnuchin said.

“I think 10 years from now when we look back at this, this will be as significant – if not more significant than both the Egyptian treaty and the Jordanian treaty [with Israel] – in how it has changed the whole region economically in particular, but also from a security standpoint and a cultural standpoint,” he said.

The opportunities for trade between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain are enormous, Mnuchin said.

“If you look at the Israeli economy and the UAE economy, just as an example, [they are] roughly the same population, roughly the same GDP, but structured very differently,” he said. “So I think the opportunity is way beyond just investment. It’s in technology; building various different businesses.”

Bahrain is strongly tied to the Saudi economy, and opening up to business with Israel “gives them… an even broader vision” and is “expanding the opportunities for them quite, quite, quite dramatically,” he added.

Mnuchin plans to visit Qatar on Tuesday. He declined to say whether Qatar would be the next country to normalize ties with Israel or whether the US will sell F-35 fighter jets to it.

The Israeli delegation planned to spend about seven hours in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, on Sunday for bilateral meetings facilitated by the US team, after which several memoranda of understanding were expected to be signed.

The central document to be signed is a peace declaration. Similar to the document Israel and Bahrain signed at the White House on September 15, it is not a treaty. The declaration involves the establishment of full diplomatic relations, including opening embassies.

The sides were expected to sign seven or eight memoranda of understanding during the visit, including in the areas of communications, health, agriculture and tourism.