Investments take centre stage at Bahrain-India top level meeting

The second meeting of the Bahrain-India Joint Commission was held in Manama yesterday and was co-chaired by Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs of India.

The Joint Commission was established by a signed between two sides during the historic State visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to India in February, 2014. Both sides appreciated that the Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers reflects the depth and strength of bilateral ties. Shaikh Khalid cordially welcomed the External Affairs Minister and the accompanying delegation to Bahrain.

He recalled the historical and friendly relations between the two countries and expressed satisfaction at the regular high level exchanges between the two countries. He highly appreciated the role and contribution of the Indian expatriate community in Bahrain’s progress and economic development. Reciprocating the warm sentiments expressed by Shaikh Khalid, Ms Swaraj expressed appreciation for the gracious hospitality extended to her and the accompanying delegation.

She recalled her visits to Bahrain in September 2014 and January 2016, during which she had an opportunity to meet and discuss a range of bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest with the Bahraini top leadership. The two sides highlighted the importance of the regular meetings of well-established bilateral mechanisms and high-level bilateral visits, recalling the landmark State visit of His Majesty the King of Bahrain to India in February 2014, which laid a strong foundation to build a closer partnership between the two countries.

During the meeting, the two sides underlined their close bilateral ties, deep-rooted in shared history and cultural affinities, sustained and nourished through growing economic linkages, multi-faceted cooperation and close people-to-people contacts. The wide-ranging discussions were held in a friendly and forward-looking atmosphere, with useful exchanges of views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.