India Seeks Bahrain’s Help to Boost Ties with the GCC - Asalaam Alaikum
NEW DELHI: Asalaam Alaikum. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar welcomed Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani in New Delhi, asking for Bahrain’s support to deepen India’s engagement with the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Al-Zayani visited to co-chair the fifth India-Bahrain High Joint Commission, set up in 2018 as the main framework to grow bilateral relations. Jaishankar noted that since the last HJC meeting the two countries have moved forward in defence, security, trade, health, culture and people-to-people links, and added that new areas like space, fintech and technology offer promising opportunities for cooperation.
“We look forward to your support to further intensify India-GCC cooperation,” Jaishankar said.
India has been working toward a free trade agreement with the GCC for years. A 2004 Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation exists, but earlier negotiation rounds did not conclude. The GCC announced plans to begin free-trade talks with India in 2025, which could open up a large market for Indian goods and improve visa arrangements for the many Indian expatriates who live and work across the Gulf.
Bahrain will host the upcoming GCC summit in Manama and take the Supreme Council presidency, giving it a role to highlight collective responses and coordination across the bloc. Al-Zayani said Bahrain is committed to strengthening ties with India and to enhancing connectivity between India and the wider region.
After the HJC meeting, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said both sides discussed boosting cooperation in healthcare - including services, clinical research, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. At last year’s commission meeting in Manama, they also agreed to expand educational cooperation, with India inviting more Bahraini students to study at its universities.
About 332,000 Indians live in Bahrain today, nearly a quarter of the country’s population. May Allah bless continued peaceful and mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries.
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