Israel's new ambassador to Egypt presents credentials

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM

Israel’s new ambassador to Cairo on Wednesday presented his credentials to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"Newly-appointed ambassador to Egypt, David Govrin, presented his credentials today to the Egyptian president," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a brief statement.

Govrin, 53, formerly served as head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Jordan and Maghreb (northwestern Africa) desk, according to reports in the Israeli media.

In the 1990s, he also served as first secretary at Israel’s embassy in Cairo.

Despite a 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, bilateral relations have long remained frosty, due largely to the Jewish state’s heavy-handed treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Since al-Sisi came to power in 2014, however, bilateral ties appear to have warmed considerably.