Israel's Foreign Ministry says a senior official has met with a visiting former military general from Saudi Arabia. The meeting marks a rare public engagement between countries that have no official relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon says Sunday that Director General Dore Gold met with Anwar Eshki at a Jerusalem hotel. Eshki currently heads a Saudi think tank in Jeddah but is believed to have close ties with the kingdom's rulers. Official government permission was likely necessary for him to make such an overt visit.

Saudi Arabia has floated a plan for a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It has unofficially grown closer to Israel in recent years over their shared concerns regarding Iran.