Bahrain to deepen economic and trade ties with Pakistan, appreciates Pakistan’s success in counterterrorism as reversal of a cataclysmic trend

Pakistan and Bahrain have agreed to take bilateral cooperation in economic and trade sector to a new level by holding the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting in Islamabad next month. This was decided today during meeting of Adviser on Foreign Affairs Mr. Sartaj Aziz with Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa on the sidelines of ‘Manama Security Dialogue – 12th Regional Security Summit’, in Manama, Bahrain. Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid will visit Pakistan from 30-31 January 2017 as head of the Bahraini delegation at the inaugural JMC.

During their meeting today, Mr. Sartaj Aziz briefed the Foreign Minister of Bahrain on Pakistan’s success in counterterrorism, which led to marked improvement in internal security, paving the way for sustained economic growth and foreign direct investment. Bahrain and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council can benefit from the opportunities offered by economic turnaround and connectivity projects in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid appreciated Pakistan’s success in counterterrorism, terming it “reversal of a cataclysmic trend” of terrorism and extremism in the world. He welcomed the prospects of economic growth in Pakistan as a result of improved security and stated that he looked forward to his upcoming visit to Pakistan as an opportunity to lay the foundation of robust economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Adviser Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid also discussed the situation in the Middle East, focusing particularly on Yemen and Syria. Mr. Aziz briefed him on the situation in Afghanistan and South Asia. The two sides also decided to create institutional mechanism of consultations and dialogue between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Bahrain, as current chair of the GCC, will initiate processes within the organization to create such a mechanism.

Mr. Sartaj Aziz, concluded his two-day visit to Bahrain, where he represented Pakistan at the ‘Manama Security Dialogue – 12th Regional Security Summit’.

Islamabad
11 December 2016

625/2016