Manama: Bahrain and Turkey have signed a slew of agreements in line with the pledge of their leaders to boost relations and boost cooperation.
The agreements were signed in Ankara where King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa arrived on Thursday to a warm welcome by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
King Hamad is the first Arab leader to visit Ankara since the failed coup in Turkey in July.
The accords were a memorandum of youth and sport cooperation, a legal cooperation agreement relating to civil, trade and penal issues, a protocol amending and completing provisions of the agreement between the government of Bahrain and the government of Turkey on aviation services, an executive programme for cultural cooperation, and a protocol of cooperation between the University of Bahrain and the Yunus Emre Institute.
Private talks between King Hamad and President Erdogan covered the “strong bilateral relations, regional and international issues and the latest developments,” Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
“The people and government of Turkey will never forget this stance, which will remain engraved in our memory,” Erdogan said at the official talks between the two delegations.
He commended the outstanding bilateral relations and said that he had issued directives to expand military, economic and trade cooperation and highlighted Turkish expertise in the sectors of health, energy, industry, tourism and social housing.
President Erdogan called for the joint economic committee to convene in the last quarter of this year in Turkey to expand cooperation and boost the volume of trade exchanges.
King Hamad said that Bahrain welcomed the reinstatement of security and stability in Turkey, led by President Erdogan. “We would like to stress the importance of fraternal communication between our brotherly countries,” he said.
Bahrain considers Turkey as a brother and ally, and the visit will herald new horizons for joint work and boost deep-rooted relations, King Hamad added, stressing that the common bonds between the two countries included the Islamic culture and a joint cultural heritage accentuated by bilateral visits and the exchange of expertise.
The two countries underscored the importance of coordination and consultation regarding regional and international issues of mutual interest, and backed regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and extremism and consolidate security and stability in the region.
