GOVERNMENT

Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa

Foreign affairs minister of Bahrain

Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the second foreign minister in Bahrain’s history, is an important voice in the ever-changing dynamics of the Middle East. At a religious freedom summit this summer in Washington, D.C., he met with his Israeli counterpart, Yisrael Katz, who tweeted afterwards, “Another example of our growing diplomatic connections. I will continue to work with [the Israeli prime minister] to advance Israel’s relations with the Gulf countries.” At a June economic conference in Manama arranged by Jared Kushner to attract investors to the Palestinian territories, Khalifa said, "Israel is part of this heritage of this whole region, historically, so the Jewish people have a place amongst us.” (Photo: Reuters / Hamad I Mohammed / File)