Bahraini King holds official talks with Indian PM

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held at Hyderabad Palace today official talks, in the presence of the two countries' official delegations.The Indian Prime Minister welcomed HM the King and his accompanying delegation, wishing them a happy stay in India.He expressed sincere thanks to HM the King for accepting the invitation to visit India, the first of its kind for a long time.He described HM the King's visit to his country as a "really historic" one."We are happy that a friend of ours is leading the kingdom of Bahrain, and I hope that we will work together to achieve the vision of HM King Hamad and our common visions regarding the solid and vital Indian-Bahraini partnership," he said.The Indian Premier asserted that HM the King's official visit to his country reflects joint commitment to consolidate bilateral relations based on mutual interests, historical bonds and unique relations between the two peoples.He said that India and Bahrain enjoy cordial friendship ties based on bilateral historical and cultural bonds, noting that the presence of the Indian expatriate community in Bahrain enhances the two countries' "ever-lasting" relations.Mr. Manmohan Singh expressed sincere thanks and gratitude to the Bahraini government and people for hosting and supporting a large Indian community, whose members, he said, contributed to "Bahrain's development" through hard work and dedication, noting that those contributions have been praised by the Bahraini leadership.He lauded the importance of the kingdom's strategic location for India and the rest of the world, and explained that that one-third of the global oil trade across the sea passes through Bahrain's territorial waters on a daily basis, stressing the importance of peace and stability in the region.He pointed out that "under HM King Hamad's wise leadership, Bahrainis can decide the best ways their country can carry on the peace and prosperity marches."He expressed India's full readiness to cooperate with the kingdom in the trade, investment and technological fields for the common benefits of the two friendly peoples.The Indian Premier wished the large business delegation accompanying HM the King fruitful talks with Indian companies, pledging commitment to enhancing the already strong cooperation with Bahrain for the joint interests of both sides.He voiced confidence that HM the King's visit to India will open up new horizons of bilateral cooperation.His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa expressed appreciation and pride in the Indian Prime Minister's keenness on strengthening bilateral friendly relations.He also thanked friendly India for inviting him to visit it, affirming the importance of two countries' desire to enhance their ties further for the benefits of their peoples.HM the King said he and the Indian Premier share the common desire and vision to build up stronger and more solid relations, noting that his visit aims to strengthen joint ties bonding the two nations 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations and 7,000 years after the beginning of prosperous trade ones.HM the King expressed his strong belief that the two countries have joint interest, and that the civilisational heritage and huge potentials can enable them to build a "strong Asian partnership"."In today's world, no country can advance on its own, and only countries with clear future visions can achieve more success through boosting joint efforts," he said. HM King Hamad expressed delight at signing more joint agreements in the educational, youth, sports and foreign affairs fields to achieve joint interests, adding that other joint projects and agreements in the industrial, trade, investment and financial fields will be signed between the private sector in both countries and will be announced during the visit."With the increase of bilateral trade and investments, development of mutual understanding, exchange of technical expertise and joint desire to meet the demands of investors on avoiding double taxation, as well as the signing of a memorandum of understanding stipulating the establishment of the High Joint Commission, we are sure that we will move to new horizons and higher levels of strategic partnership in all fields," he added.HM the King said that Bahrain and other GCC countries do represent an important part of Asia, given their strategic location and huge energy potentials.He affirmed that "with our distinguished potentials and characteristics, we are keen on spurring global economy for the sake of achieving more sustainable development and stability, and ensuring that such vital energy reaches our friends without obstacles," adding that "with India's support and partnership, we are able to build a strong coalition."HM King Hamad valued highly India's crucial role in promoting global security and stability, and praised its efforts in combating terrorism, and supportive stances towards Arab rights, reiterating keenness to "enhance partnership with India in order to achieve security, peace and progress for our countries and peoples."HM the King added that Bahrain agrees with India on the need to reform the UN Security Council so as to reflect the modern world really, voicing the Kingdom's support to India's desire to be permanent member of the UN Security Council.He stressed that Bahrain will never forget the sacrifices and contributions of the Indian community to its modern renaissance.He praised the "valuable" efforts of the Indian expatriate community whose members, he said, have become part of the national fabric of the kingdom, noting that they are fully free to practise their religious rituals, just like Bahraini citizens and other communities, and have the right to be members of professional associations and elect their representatives to local municipal councils. HM the King expressed sincere thanks to the Indian Prime Minister for his personal efforts and those of the Indian government to boost bilateral relations.HM King Hamad invited the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Bahrain in order to continue joint efforts to upgrade bilateral cooperation.Talks also focused on ways of bolstering bilateral relations in various fields, as well as the latest regional and global developments.HM King Hamad and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh patronised the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding (MoU).In this regard, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid signed a MoU on behalf of the Government of Bahrain and its Indian counterpart on youth and sport fields.Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid signed another MoU establishing a High Commission of Joint Cooperation between the two governments.They also signed another MoU between the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Diplomatic Academy at the Bahraini Foreign Ministry.