Pakistan PM Meets Bahrain Crown Prince in Manama

MANAMA: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in Manama on Wednesday, where the two leaders held wide-ranging talks on strengthening bilateral relations, expanding economic cooperation and deepening security ties.

The prime minister was presented a guard of honour upon arrival at Al-Qudaibiya Palace. He thanked the Bahraini leadership for the warm welcome and appreciated Bahrain’s role in promoting strong and friendly relations with Pakistan. He also congratulated Bahrain on securing non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the 2026–2027 term and expressed Pakistan’s readiness to work closely during its tenure.

Economic cooperation remained the key focus of the meeting. The prime minister highlighted that bilateral trade, currently exceeding 550 million US dollars, has the potential to reach one billion dollars within the next three years. He said this growth would be supported through the Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement, which is in its final stages, and recently eased visa measures. He invited Bahraini investors to explore opportunities in food security, information technology, construction, mines and minerals, healthcare, renewable energy and tourism. He also proposed enhancing port-to-port connectivity between Karachi and Gwadar ports and Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port.

The prime minister acknowledged Bahrain’s continued support for the large Pakistani community residing there and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to providing skilled manpower. He welcomed deeper cooperation in higher education, technical training and digital governance, and thanked Bahrain for facilitating the release and repatriation of Pakistani nationals as well as for supporting the establishment of King Hamad University in Islamabad.

Defence and security cooperation also came under discussion. Both sides agreed to further expand collaboration in military training, cybersecurity, defence production and intelligence sharing.

The leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Gaza and agreed that lasting peace and stability was long overdue for the people of Gaza, who have suffered for decades.

The meeting concluded with both sides expressing confidence that the discussions would lead to practical outcomes and further strengthen Pakistan–Bahrain relations across strategic, economic, security and people-to-people areas.