New Delhi:
Ahead of Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani’s India visit, the two countries on Wednesday reviewed cooperation in areas of oil and gas, trade and investment, defence and security, healthcare and renewable energy.
The review was carried out at a virtual meeting of senior officials of the two sides as part of the preparation for the upcoming India-Bahrain High Joint Commission (HJC) dialogue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The third HJC will be held in New Delhi on April 7 and the meeting will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, it said.
About the meeting of the senior officials, the MEA said both sides highlighted their strong bilateral ties spanning a wide range of areas, adding it was reflected in the excellent cooperation in handling the COVID-19 situation.
“Both sides also reviewed their cooperation in different areas, including oil and gas, trade and investment, defence and security, food security, healthcare, renewable energy, space, IT, human resource, education and culture,” the MEA said in a statement.
The senior officials’ meeting was co-chaired by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa division) in the MEA, and Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Under Secretary in Bahraini foreign ministry.
Bahrain is a key country for India in the Gulf region. More than 3,50,000 Indians are living in Bahrain.
