Capital Governorate’s role in promoting Bahrain stressed

Manama: Following the visit of St. Petersburg’s Governor Georgy Poltavchenko to the Kingdom of Bahrain by end April, DT News met with Capital Governor Shaikh Hesham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa to talk about the outcomes of the visit. Excerpts:

 What is the significance of the visit of St. Petersburg Governor to the Kingdom of Bahrain? How would it enhance cooperation between the two countries?

It’s important to activate the MoU signed during the visit of Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2014. The MoU included a clause that instructs to exchange visits between both countries, and this was fulfilled during my visit to St. Petersburg in 2015 and the recent visit of St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko to Bahrain.

I personally headed the 35-member Bahraini delegation to the historic city in Russia last year and the delegation consisted of businessmen, government authorities and private sector establishments’ representatives.

It was a successful visit as we took a closer look into the development of the old city, which shares many similarities with our Capital. We saw how the authorities there overcome the contemporary challenges such as waste recycling, energy and water production.

The visit resulted in signing several MoUs in the healthcare and economic fields. Such visits endorse and strengthen bilateral ties. They also give the Governorate its pioneering role in promoting the Kingdom of Bahrain and its gains and achievements.

Two MoUs were signed between the University of Bahrain (UoB) and St. Petersburg State University as well as Bahrain Business Women’s Society and St. Petersburg Social and Economic Institute. How would those agreements benefit the country?

The MoU signed between UoB and St. Petersburg University is an agreement signed between the most prominent academic institutions in both countries.

The agreements are a gateway to another era of cooperation between both the nations. It would open up new horizons of cooperation in many fields. Opening up these fields of cooperation would serve attracting mutual investment and enhance academic and economic cooperation.

This would benefit Bahraini students and teachers, and would also have a similar impact on students and teachers there.

During your visit to St. Petersburg and the recent visit of your Russian counterpart, a delegation of specialists in the commercial, economic and scientific fields accompanied you. How far could this cooperation go, considering the involvement of several experts from various fields?

I have suggested during the meeting with the governor of St. Petersburg here in Manama to form a committee to follow up on the outputs of our meetings. The panel should serve the objectives of facilitating investment between the two countries in different sectors and create partnerships between Bahraini and Russian traders as well as recommend and present projects to investors.

What I’m saying is, following the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the directives of Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the cooperation between both countries would expand across all fields.