Cairo - Bahrain's Foreign Minister called for the establishment of a regional organization that includes Arab states as well as Turkey, Israel and Iran, media reports said on Wednesday. Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa was quoted by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat as saying "such an organization should be formed even if we don't recognize each other."
The aim of the grouping would be to resolve disputes its members have with one another, according to the minister.
"Let them all sit together in one group ... Why not become one organization to overcome this difficult phase?," he said.
"Aren't we all members of the United Nations? Why not (come together) on a regional basis? This is the only path to solve our problems either today or in 200 years," the minister told the newspaper in New York where he attended the UN General Assembly.
The pro-Western Gulf island has a free trade agreement with the United States and also hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Earlier this year, Bahrain appointed the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador as its envoy to Washington.
Only Egypt and Jordan, among all Arab countries, have full peace treaties with Israel.
