Bahrain foreign minister’s resignation denied

Manama: A senior Bahraini official has denied claims that the country’s foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa has resigned.

“The allegation that he has resigned are baseless and lack credibility,” Hamad Al Amer, the ministry’s undersecretary for regional affairs and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said.

Claims about Shaikh Khalid’s resignation were the hottest topic on Sunday evening in the Bahraini blogosphere, giving way to a host of speculation about the reasons for the alleged unexpected decision.

Shaikh Khalid, Bahrain’s foreign minister since September 2005, has won international recognition for promoting the use of social networks as a means of direct and unhindered communication with the public.

He describes himself on Twitter, where he has 124,193 followers, as a “diplomat, ambassador, foreign minister, reader, world traveller and bon vivant.”

His penultimate tweet was in December when he used the account to offer a grateful accolade to General H. Norman Schwarzkopf that revered his stand during the 1991 Gulf War to evict Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

“Rest in peace, our dear friend, General Norman Schwarzkopf .. Thank you for your valiant stand,” Shaikh Khalid posted.