US president meets Bahraini crown prince

US President Barack Obama has conferred with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister at the White House in Washington D.C. At the meeting, held last night, the Bahraini Crown Prince outlined the significant strides in reform undertaken by the Kingdom of Bahrain over the past decade, under His Majesty King Hamads leadership, and reasserted the countrys commitment to continued reform in line with the principles of the 2001 National Action Charter. He said that the ongoing reform process was aimed directly at enhancing state institutions to improve government services, promote individual rights, and enhance accountability, equality and transparency. On dialogue, the Crown Prince said that a comprehensive process has been initiated to inform democratic development aimed at achieving a genuine consensus across all sections of society. However, he cautioned that rejection of dialogue and continued active or tacit support to acts of violence will not hasten change, but will only undermine reform and thwart progress. He restated his call for all concerned parties to unequivocally condemn violence. In return President Obama reaffirmed the importance of the United States partnership with Bahrain and its commitment to further strengthening of bilateral relations. He expressed the full support of the United States to the Kingdom of Bahrain for its program of reform and the National Dialogue and noted that the United States continues to encourage all sides to engage constructively in order to achieve progress. The talks between the two sides also dealt with ways to enhance the longstanding strategic ties between them and steps to further peace and stability in the wider region.