UNITED NATIONS, Sept 16: Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom held talks on Thursday with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al Thani, in what were described as the first official contacts between the two countries.

The two men discussed Israel’s recently-completed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the question of establishing diplomatic relations, the official said.

“They discussed the disengagement from Gaza and the possibility of having normal diplomatic relations,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Although officials from both countries have met on at least eight occasions, this was their “first open and official meeting”, the Israeli official said.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, al-Thani did not rule out the possibility of establishing full diplomatic ties with Israel ahead of the establishment of a Palestinian state, but said it would be contingent on progress on peace.

“It could happen ... but we need to see a timetable — how we will start the peace process and how we will end it,” he said speaking in English.

The Israeli official said Israeli officials were “still working on” setting up a meeting Friday between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani on the sidelines of the UN summit.

On Tuesday, Shalom secretly met here for the first time with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda, with the Indonesian minister stressing Jakarta would not establish diplomatic ties ahead of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.—AFP