Young Bahraini Leaders Visit EU Institutions in Brussels for Skills and Dialogue Exchange

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthen people-to-people contacts with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the European Union recently welcomed a group of talented Bahraini young leaders for a familiarisation visit to the European Union institutions in Brussels. This visit, which took place from 18-22 November 2024, aligns with the EU’s commitment to skills-building and youth empowerment.

The participants were the top 10 performers of the seventh edition of the “Young Parliamentarian” programme, a capacity-building and youth empowerment initiative organized by The Youth Pioneer Society, a Bahraini non-profit organisation, under the patronage of His Excellency Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of Bahraini Shura Council.

The study trip aimed to facilitate open dialogue on youth-related issues, exchange best practices, and foster closer people-to-people exchanges as the European Union seeks to deepen its strategic ties with Bahrain.
The study-trip comes on the heels of the first ever EU-GCC Summit on 16th October 2024 in Brussels, which brought together senior leadership from both regional blocks to discuss the geopolitical developments in the wider Middle East and a common vision for the future.

During their visit to the European Union, the Bahraini young leaders met with senior EU officials from the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European External Action Service, Belgian authorities, and European youth organisations. They engaged in discussions on the latest developments in bilateral and regional affairs. The visit also included cultural activities and visits to Brussels’ historic landmarks.

The visit marked the culmination of months of learning for these young parliamentarians, with the top 10 being selected to participate in this enriching experience, accompanied by three members of the Youth Pioneer Society.

The EU has been a strategic partner to the Young Parliamentarian programme for three consecutive years, and this is the third group to visit the European Union institutions in Belgium.

This year, the EU also hosted a COP simulation game in Bahrain, open to over 50+ young parliamentarians earlier in October, which aimed to enhance participants’ negotiation skills, foster multilateral cooperation, and raise awareness about climate action. The participants acted as representatives of industrialised and developing countries, including GCC and other MENA countries, participated in a climate summit, drafted resolutions, tabled amendments, and engaged in formal and informal negotiations to reach a final agreement on climate action. The young participants also benefited from dedicated sessions on international negotiations and the EU’s flagship policy, the European Green Deal, to tackle climate change globally.

The partnership with the Young Parliamentarian Programme, as a youth empowerment initiative, aligns with the EU's ongoing efforts to strengthen its Strategic Partnership with the Gulf, as outlined in the EU joint communication, published in May 2022. The Joint Communication sets the vision for EU-Gulf relations that aims to broaden and deepen the EU’s cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council and its Member States, presenting concrete proposals to strengthen cooperation on energy, green transition and climate change, trade and economic diversification, regional stability and global security, humanitarian and development challenges, and closer people to people contacts.