Bahrain-India consultation meeting organised in Delhi

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Bahrain was held in New Delhi on 28 March to strengthen bilateral relations.

The event was co-chaired by Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV&OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, GOI and Dr Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Undersecretary of Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bahrain.

Both delegations discussed all areas of bilateral cooperation and reviewed the progress made since the 3rd High Joint Commission meeting cochaired by EAM and the Foreign Minister of Bahrain in April 2021 in New Delhi.

They expressed satisfaction at the continued momentum in bilateral ties despite the restrictions posed by COVID-19 pandemic. India and Bahrain celebrated the Golden Jubilee of establishment of diplomatic relations in October 2021.

Both sides are looking forward to an early visit of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to India. They also agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, hydrocarbons and renewable energy, health and pharmaceuticals, IT, Fintech, food security, civil aviation, space, defence and security, parliamentary cooperation, culture, education and people-to-people connect focusing on youth, skill development and startups.

Bilateral trade has shown upward trajectory and is likely to be the highest ever in F.Y. 2021- 22 at more than USD 1.4 billion. They also discussed regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.