Bahrain and Philippines celebrate 43 years of formal diplomatic relations

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain is home to more than 49,000 Filipinos who are living and working in the Kingdom.

The partnership of brothers between Bahrain and the Philippines continues to transform the lives of many Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and they include professionals, skilled and semi-skilled as well as household service workers.

Many of them also bring their families to this part of the world.

On 27 November, the Philippines and Bahrain celebrated 43 years of formal diplomatic relations.

The relations between the two countries have always been friendly and cordial.

Even before the formal establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1978, the peoples and governments of both countries have interacted closely on all fronts and at all levels of cooperation.

Today, such a strong and close partnership continues as both countries work together to implement cooperative arrangements and establish mechanisms to identify, enhance, and expand relations in various areas.

In the labour sector, the Bahrain government continues to allow the hosting of the OFWs in the Kingdom and has implemented programmes and policies that are beneficial to the Filipino community.

The presence of Filipino workers in Bahrain have not only created a strong awareness about the Philippines and its people in this part of the Middle East, but it has also cemented the relations between the two countries in the most basic and profound way and brought the relations to the most concrete, most basic, and personal level, which is the bedrock of any relations.

Through the years, the diplomatic relations have grown and strengthened with the exchange of high-level visits between officials of the two governments, the conduct of trade and investment missions, and foreign ministry consultations, which are instrumental in enhancing the areas of cooperation, and the forging and implementation of bilateral agreements which are of mutual benefit to their peoples.

The exchange of high-level visits between officials of both governments, the most recent of which was the visit of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, has significantly improved bilateral relations.

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa stressed President Duterte’s visit represented a significant step towards strengthening bilateral relations and broadening cooperation in various areas, mainly trade, economics and investment.

HM the King expressed appreciation of the contributions of the Filipino community to the development in Bahrain.

In response, Duterte lauded HM King Hamad’s support for further boosting Philippine-Bahraini relations, particularly for accommodating and taking care of the OFWs.