Bahrain FM due in Islamabad for talks on trade and security

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani is due in Pakistan on Wednesday for a two-day official visit, during which he will co-chair the third session of the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC).

The Foreign Office (FO) said the visit, on October 7 and 8, is at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who will lead the Pakistani side of the commission.

What is on the table

“The two sides will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation across diverse areas of mutual interest,” the FO said. It listed the areas as:

• trade and investment
• economic cooperation
• defence and security
• labour and manpower
• cultural exchanges

The two ministers will also exchange views on regional and international developments and on cooperation at multilateral forums, the FO added.

“Pakistan and Bahrain enjoy close, brotherly relations founded on shared faith, common values, mutual respect, and longstanding people-to-people links,” the statement said. It noted that the two countries keep up regular high-level exchanges, and said the visit “reflects the strong momentum” in relations and a shared commitment to deepen cooperation.

Weeks of preparation

On October 3, Dar chaired an inter-ministerial meeting in Islamabad to review preparations for the session, the state news agency APP reported. He stressed the commission’s importance in expanding cooperation with Bahrain and told the ministries involved to finalise their work in close coordination and pursue concrete outcomes from the visit.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the acting foreign secretary and senior officials from the relevant ministries attended that meeting. The secretary of the Economic Affairs Division briefed Dar on the agenda and the main areas of cooperation for the session.

Dar and Al Zayani last met on September 25 in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. They discussed bilateral ties and preparations for the JMC, and Al Zayani praised Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability, according to the FO.

Defence links

The visit comes a few months after the commander of the Bahrain National Guard, General Shaikh Mohammad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, visited Pakistan in June, Geo News reported. He met the chiefs of the three armed services separately, discussed the role of Pakistan’s armed forces in regional peace and stability, and expressed interest in more cooperation on training and capacity-building.

A commission with a long gap

Pakistan and Bahrain agreed to set up the JMC in 2014, when King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa paid a three-day visit to Pakistan. The last session was held in Manama in July 2021, after which the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to promote business ties.

This week’s session will be the first since July 2021. The FO’s list, which includes labour and manpower as well as defence, trade and investment, gives a sense of the ground the two ministers are expected to cover. Trade is one gap to close: Pakistan’s exports to Bahrain fell in July and August as its trade deficit with Gulf countries widened.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, Geo News and APP.