Manama: Bahrain’s policy of reinforcing its ties with the Far East is set to receive a boost when King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa makes a historic visit to China.
No date has been officially announced for the landmark official trip, but the Bahraini official news agency reported that the foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, has received Li Chen, the Chinese ambassador in Manama, and reviewed with him the “forthcoming visit” by King Hamad to China and “the anticipated consolidation of cooperation between the two countries”.
Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a historic visit to Bahrain, the first by a prime minister from Tokyo in four decades. Both Bahrain and Japan said that they were pleased with the outcome and highlighted the significance of the accords they signed to reinforce their cooperation.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won was also in Manama last week on an official two-day visit that highlighted the rapprochement between the two countries and their “keen interest in bolstering ties and broadening cooperation”.
Manama and Beijing established formal diplomatic relations in 1989. In April, Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa reportedly expressed keen interest in boosting political, economic and diplomatic relations between Bahrain and China.
Bahraini officials say that their country, a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a member of the Arab League, has maintained friendly relations with the world community and has had close diplomatic ties with several countries, based on “mutual respect” and “non-interference in the domestic affairs of other capitals”.
Bahrain has had special rapport with Western countries since its independence in 1971 and the kingdom was declared in 2002 a major non-Nato ally.
