Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold a series of meetings with officials, including the kingdom's Foreign Minister Abdel Latif bin Rashed al-Zayani, in Manama on Tuesday during his working trip to Bahrain. Lavrov is also expected to meet with Bahrain's prime minister, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The minister had already been received by King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Monday.
The sides are expected to focus on the prospects for trade and economic relations between the two countries, security issues in the Middle East and North Africa, and the situation in Ukraine.
Manama will be the first stop in Lavrov's trip to the Arabian Peninsula, which also involves a visit to the Saudi capital.
A reliable partner under new conditions
Moscow and Manama traditionally maintain a regular political dialogue at various levels, but recently contacts between the countries have noticeably intensified. Thus, in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bahraini King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the initiative of Bahrain had a telephone conversation in which they expressed their intention to develop friendly relations between the two countries.
Moscow has repeatedly stated at various levels that it considers Manama to be a long-standing reliable partner in the Arab world. Bahrain, according to the country's leadership, is proud of the strong friendly relations between Moscow and Manama and is fully committed to the systematic development of these relations in all directions.
In addition to the bilateral format, the sides also maintain close coordination within the framework of existing mechanisms of interaction between Russia and the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf and Russia and the Arab League.
It is clear that the Russian and Bahraini foreign ministers will discuss in detail the further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries, especially against the background of the West's sanctions policy against Russia. As Lavrov noted earlier, Moscow highly appreciates that the countries of the Arab world refuse to be led by the United States and its allies and objectively assess what is happening in Ukraine, understanding the reasons that led to the current situation.
Moreover, countries in the region, including Bahrain, are not joining the anti-Russian sanctions.
"All Arab countries are taking a responsible stance. This proves that they rely solely on their national interests and are not ready to sacrifice them for the sake of anyone's geopolitical adventures," the Russian foreign minister said earlier.
Obviously, the events in Ukraine will also be in the focus of attention of the parties. Lavrov had already informed his Bahraini counterpart in April about the reasons and goals of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. The ministers will now have an opportunity to exchange views on the current state of affairs.
New prospects: trade and economic cooperation
As for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, it is still lagging behind the desired indicators. This is largely due to the deep recession that the world economy entered due to the coronavirus pandemic, which was accompanied by a sharp decline in global trade and a contraction of financial markets. Nevertheless, trade ties between Russia and Bahrain have survived, and trade turnover is now beginning to show signs of post-pandemic recovery. Russia's main exports to Bahrain are coal, metal products, bitumen, food and pharmaceuticals. The kingdom, in turn, mainly supplies aluminum and petrochemicals to Russia.
Moscow and Manama, as previously noted by Russian Ambassador to Bahrain Igor Kremnev, are looking for ways to significantly increase the volume of bilateral trade. The activities of the Russian-Bahrain intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, established in 2016, play an important role in strengthening trade ties between the two countries. Its third meeting is scheduled to be held this year in Manama, but details and specific dates have not yet been announced.
It is possible that the heads of foreign ministries will discuss opportunities for revitalizing its work.
Despite its modest size, Bahrain is an important and promising financial center of the Arab world. Both sides pay considerable attention to investment cooperation carried out under the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Bahrain's Mumtalakat Fund. The agreement between the two governments on the promotion and mutual protection of capital investments, which entered into force in December 2015, also contributes to its enhancement.
In addition, Moscow and Manama have established cooperation in combating the coronavirus pandemic. Russian vaccines Sputnik V and Sputnik Light are successfully used in the kingdom. As noted by Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko during her visit to Bahrain in December 2021, Sputnik V is very popular among citizens of Bahrain and ranks second among all the vaccines available in the country.
In the interest of the people
Tourism also remains a promising area of cooperation between Russia and Bahrain. Before the pandemic, the number of tourists from Russia visiting Bahrain was increasing annually. Now the kingdom is open for the Russians. Back in February Bahrain was the first country in the Middle East to lift sanitary restrictions on foreign tourists entering the country. In particular, PCR testing for coronavirus on arrival and quarantine for all passengers were abolished. Vaccination certificates are also not required for travel to the kingdom. Russia in April lifted restrictions on regular and charter flights, imposed in the wake of the pandemic, on flights to 52 other countries, including Bahrain. All this, obviously, will contribute to the growth of interest of Russian travelers to this Middle Eastern destination.
In addition, Moscow and Manama are working on mutual waiving of visa requirements. As noted by Matviyenko in January 2020 the Bahraini side was given a draft intergovernmental agreement on mutual abolition of visas for citizens of both countries. She also expressed confidence that the early approval and signing of such an agreement with Bahrain would revive business and tourism activities of citizens of both countries.
Cultural, humanitarian, scientific and educational contacts between Moscow and Manama are also expanding. Dozens of Bahraini professionals are currently studying in Russia, and Moscow declared its readiness to increase the number of scholarships for students from Bahrain. In addition, the sides have previously expressed interest in organizing Russian culture days in Manama this year.
Watching over the regional security
The foreign ministers of the two countries will check notes on key topics on the Middle East agenda. Lavrov has previously stressed that Russia and Bahrain have a full mutual understanding of the stabilization of the situation in the international arena, particularly in the Middle East.
The ministers will pay special attention to the situation in Yemen, Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, and, of course, the situation in the Persian Gulf. Moscow has repeatedly declared its readiness to provide the necessary assistance for long-term improvement in the situation in the Persian Gulf. In that connection, Russia has made public its concept of security in the Persian Gulf, which was recently updated. It involves inter alia coordination in the military-political sphere, the creation of mechanisms for resolving disputes and conflicts, and the definition of the basic parameters of the future architecture of intergovernmental interaction in the Persian Gulf.
As the Russian side has already noted, partners from this region have shown interest in Moscow's initiative.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS