“The State of Israel will strive to deepen cooperation with the Alliance and the willingness to work together to assist the Alliance with the various challenges it faces,” Lapid said in a Twitter post.

The meeting with Stoltenberg came ahead of a series of bilateral talks with European foreign ministers, including German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, with Lapid thanking Maas in a tweet “for his firm support and for the courageous friendship between Israel and Germany.”

On Monday afternoon, Lapid was scheduled to address the European Union Foreign Affairs Council, the first time an Israeli foreign minister is speaking to the Council since Tzipi Livni in 2008.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the bloc was hoping for a fresh start with Israel’s new government after holding bilateral talks with Lapid the day before.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to restart our relations, which in the past were quite deteriorated,” Borrell said.

Also on Sunday, Lapid met with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

According to Shoukry’s spokesperson, Egypt’s top diplomat emphasized “the need to resolve the current stalemate between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, leading to just and comprehensive peace negotiations.”

Shoukry reiterated Egypt’s call for “creating an appropriate atmosphere” to revive talks between Israelis and Palestinians with the aim of reaching a two-state solution.