Manama: Bahrain and Russia have agreed to bolster their relations and cooperation as King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa and President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Russian city of Sochi.
“Both leaders discussed the strong ties binding both countries and ways of boosting bilateral cooperation to achieve the aspirations of the two friendly peoples,” a report carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said. “They expressed satisfaction with the advanced level of Bahraini-Russian relations, underlining keenness on more cooperation in various fields. They also discussed regional and international developments, stressing the need to maintain global peace and security, to preserve regional stability and to fight terrorism.”
In a statement following the meeting, King Hamad “lauded the growing relations of friendship between Bahrain and Russia, expressing happiness about visiting Russia to further cement bilateral links and cooperation mainly in the defence, security, energy, economic, investment, trade and tourism fields.”
In his welcome speech, Putin “pledged to continue the efforts aimed at fostering cooperation between both countries, pointing out the global economic difficulties”.
“Bahrain is a key partner not only in the Gulf region, but also in the Middle East,” he said. “We are happy to meet our Bahraini friends and discuss the overall regional and international situation with them,” Putin said.
In his speech, King Hamad “thanked the Russian President for the invitation which he described as an opportunity to exchange views on ways of enhancing bilateral relations and common interests”.
“Undoubtedly the situation in the Middle East is important for the economic condition,” King Hamad said, stressing the need for cooperation to overcome economic hardships.
At a press conference following the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that talks between the sides were held in an atmosphere of trust and friendship and focused on bolstering bilateral relations in all fields.
He stressed the resolve of King Hamad and Putin to strengthen ties, continue the political dialogue and promote parliamentary relations, while focusing particularly on military, economic and trade cooperation.
He commended the establishment of the joint governmental committee which, he said, will contribute to bolstering trade and economic cooperation, including energy, industry, transport and infrastructure, pointing out that a draft agreement in this regard was under consideration, BNA reported.
“The governmental circles and the business community in the two countries do not wait for the official decisions and take the initiative to bolster relations in all fields”, he said.
Lavrov said that Mumtalakat, Bahrain Government’s investment arm, pumped $250 million (Dh917 million) in the Russian Fund for Direct Investments, adding that other projects worth 20 billion roubles (Dh932 million) are in the pipeline.
He highlighted the intensive contacts undertaken by Gazprom to bolster cooperation with Bahrain in the field of liquefied natural gas.
“President Putin and His Majesty the King discussed the activity of the Russian-Bahraini Business Council”, Lavrov said, adding that the panel holds regular meetings in Russia and Bahrain.
He underlined the establishment of the joint governmental committee in charge of military and technical cooperation and said that the panel discussed tangible projects, looking ahead to consolidating military contacts between the two countries.
Lavrov said that the Bahraini side, including the military, had been invited to attend the air games as well as International Tank Biathlon Championship.
Lavrov underlined the three-year cultural cooperation programme (2015-2017) and the two-year tourism cooperation programme (2015-2016) and pointed out that the two sides discussed cooperation regarding the Fifa elections, scheduled to be held this month, commending the stance of the King in support the Russian bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
He said Putin and the King discussed regional and international issues, in light of current developments in the Middle East and North Africa.
The two leaders, he said, stressed the importance of prioritising combating the scourge of terrorism relentlessly, settling international crises peacefully and preventing the disintegration of countries.
“The two leaders focused on the situation in Syria, stressing the importance of implementing the UN Resolution 2254, which calls for a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue that enables Syrians to decide their own future”, he said, pointing out that the International Group in Support of Syria would meet in Munich on Thursday.
He said that Russia and Bahrain underlined the need for Syria to be a stable and secular country and preserve its territorial integrity, stressing the need to ensure guaranties to all segments of Syrian society. “These same principles shall be adopted to settle the brewing crises in Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan”, he said, urging the international community to step up efforts to reach a just settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lavrov backed the rights of peoples in the region to self-determination, stressing his country’s approach regarding security in the Gulf region. He thanked Bahrainis for dealing positively with this Russian approach to security in the Gulf region, pointing out that the Russian blueprint would be on the agenda of the upcoming session of the Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue, scheduled to be held in the first half of this year in Moscow.
Lavrov said that Putin and King Hamad are very satisfied about the outcome of their key official talks.
Shaikh Khalid hailed the concordant stances of the two countries regarding steadily-growing relations.
He commended the achievements since the establishment of diplomatic ties, pointing out that bilateral relations have since evolved and developed in record time.
He stressed the establishment of the joint governmental committee and the military and technical cooperation committee, stressing the role of the panels in exchanging expertise and training, concluding military purchases and promoting economic and investment cooperation.
Shaikh Khalid underlined joint cooperation in other domains, including in sport, saying King Hamad was keen on the Russian bid to host the 2018 World Cup. He highlighted the concordance of stances between the two countries on the war on terrorism and the peaceful settlement of conflicts and disputes, stressing the need to avert the disintegration of states.
He underlined the plight of countries that fell into the cauldron of sectarian strife, which displaced thousands of people who fled to other countries, thus causing a global humanitarian crisis.
