Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks on Friday with his Bahraini counterpart Abdel Latif bin Rashed al-Zayani, who is in Moscow on a working visit.
This is al-Zayani's second trip to Russia since his appointment as the kingdom's foreign minister in February 2020. In June this year, he participated in the events of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The upcoming ministerial meeting is expected to help maintain a confidential political dialogue on regional and international issues and will allow to discuss topical issues of further development of Russian-Bahrain relations.
Mutually beneficial ties
Diplomatic relations between the two countries marked 30 years last year. Decades of cooperation have benefited both countries, a report from the kingdom's embassy in Russia reads, which was received by TASS.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Moscow and Manama have traditionally friendly relations and the countries maintain a regular political dialogue at various levels. The ministerial meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss in detail current issues of further development of the entire range of cooperation, the progress made in the practical implementation of the agreements reached during the contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain.
Smolensk Square stressed that it considers al-Zayani's visit as another important step towards building bilateral multifaceted ties, promoting peace and stability in the Persian Gulf and advancing a constructive agenda in the entire Middle East region.
Business interaction: trade and air travel
Bahrain's embassy in Moscow told TASS that among the most important issues the ministers will discuss is the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, cancelled due to the pandemic. In addition, the head of the Kingdom's Foreign Ministry intends to raise the issue of continuing education of Bahraini students in Russia.
It is expected that during the talks special attention will be paid to the tasks of systematic increase of mutual trade and investment partnership, activation of the work of the Russian-Bahrain intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation and strengthening of interregional and cultural-humanitarian relations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry drew attention to the fact that at the end of 2020, due to the unfavorable economic situation and the fall in world energy prices associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of bilateral trade decreased by 53% compared with the same period of the previous year and amounted to $21.3 million.
In this regard, the bilateral intergovernmental commission has an important role to play in enhancing the exchange of goods. Currently, the issue of organizing its third meeting in Manama is being worked out.
The legal base of bilateral relations is also being improved. Thus, in May the State Corporation Roscosmos and the National Space Science Agency of the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the field of research and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. Bahraini Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed stressed that the document would be the basis for cooperation in the field of space between the two states.
In addition, coordination of intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents in the customs, transport, industrial cooperation, health and a number of other spheres continues.
Production of Sputnik V
Cooperation in the fight against the pandemic will not go unnoticed. Bahraini authorities have already approved the use of Russian vaccines Sputnik V and Sputnik Light in the Kingdom. Sputnik V has already demonstrated 94.3% efficacy.
Cooperation between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Bahrain's Mumtalakat sovereign fund is also developing at a good pace. For example, the RDIF, the Mumtalakat fund and Binnopharm Group (part of Sistema) have agreed to build a Sputnik V vaccine manufacturing facility in the Kingdom. The products of this facility are expected to be supplied to markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the Bahraini diplomatic mission in Moscow, Bahrain is looking forward to the establishment of this enterprise.
Regional agenda
Lavrov and al-Zayani are expected to exchange views on major aspects of the regional agenda, including the situation in Syria, the problems of the Arab-Israeli settlement, and the prospects for reliable stabilization in the strategically important Persian Gulf region. "The emphasis will be placed on the need to resolve the remaining conflict situations here by political and diplomatic means in the spirit of the relevant provisions of international law and the UN Charter, while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the region's states, based on the inadmissibility of interference in their internal affairs," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
It is worth mentioning that last year Bahrain became one of the Arab countries, which moved to normalize relations with Israel. The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states must not be used for prolonging the Palestinian problem.
The ministers will also check notes on key aspects of Russian-Bahrain interaction at the UN and other multilateral platforms.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS