Indian Foreign Minister to attend Little India launch

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend the inauguration of the Little India project in Bahrain, organised by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) in association with the Indian Embassy and Samskrithi Bahrain tomorrow. 

Indian Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Ram Singh told DT News that the Minister would arrive in Bahrain at noon on Saturday and that Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was chalking out the details of the Minister’s visit. 

Sushma Swaraj, who is on her second visit to Bahrain, will join Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa at the launch to be held from 5pm to 9pm at a special venue near the Hindu Temple, Bab Al Bahrain.  The last visit of Sushama Swaraj to Bahrain was in September 2014  when she participated in the   Diaspora Engagement Meet.      

The launch of the project is part of a series of National Day activities lined up by the BACA, which coordinated with Indian cultural association Samskrithi Bahrain on the project. 

The   launch event will be attended by BACA President Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Indian Ambassador Alok Kumar Sinha and several Indian religious and community figures.    

As part of the project, historical areas in Manama Souq are being spruced up and made to be one of the top attractions in the country for Bahraini and expatriate residents as well as tourists from all over the world. 

The Little India in Bahrain project celebrates and documents the contribution of the Indian community to the history and progress of Bahrain, with almost 4,000 years of history shared between the two countries. 

Bahrain’s vision is to beautify and showcase one of the richest of the historical areas in Bahrain, the Indian Part of Souk Manama, via this project. 

Little India in Bahrain is tantamount to Bahrain’s Cultural Tourism and will feature a prominent project for the year 2015 marked by the slogan “Our Year of Heritage” and 2016 “Bahrain, Your Destination”. 

The project will give back to the Indian community while promoting the area to tourists and locals through a series of site-specific interventions along Al Hadrami and Al Muatasim Avenues. 

The project includes restoration and renovation works of some exterior buildings mainly located in Al Hadrami and Al Muatasim Avenues  as well as the creation of a small public space in this area. 

The public space will offer also the possibility of a place for gatherings, relaxation and even trade (food, markets, events, and Bollywood films). 

This project   gives  an account of the arrival of the first Indians into the Kingdom of Bahrain, the role they played in its growth, and their continuing influence here. 

The Indian community has contributed to Bahrain’s economy, its infrastructure, as well as its social and cultural history.   Vintage photographs of the area will bring to life vital aspects of this historic account. 

This project will celebrate the great history and the enduring fruitful relationship between Bahrainis and Indians and show the continued commitment to strengthening these precious ties. It will also bring to light the plurality that Bahrain chooses to celebrate in the Kingdom.

Buttressing ties

India is set to deepen its ties with the 22-member Arab League as part of its ‘Link West’ policy when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visits Bahrain on December 20 for the first ministerial of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum, the Statesman newspaper reported yesterday.  

Besides, attending the first Ministerial meeting, the Minister would hold bilateral talks with her Bahrain counterpart, official sources told the Statesman. 

The Ministerial meeting comes a year after the two sides held their first Senior Officials Meeting in New Delhi, India in November last year. While India’s ties with the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is strong, New Delhi is now steadily forging closer ties with the Arab League, whose chief is senior Egyptian diplomat Nabil Elaraby. 

Swaraj had met with Elaraby during her visit to Cairo earlier in August this year. The Arab world also hosts 7.5 million Indian workers, who form a crucial part of the convergence between the two sides. The bilateral trade between the two sides touched $184 billion in 2013.