Saudi-Bahraini Political Coordination Committee holds first meeting

Manama, Apr.6 (BNA): The first meeting of the Political Coordination Committee emanating from the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council was held today, which is co-chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The meeting was held jointly by His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with the participation of members of the committee's working team from both sides. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani delivered a speech in which he expressed his great pleasure at the convening of the first meeting of the Political Coordination Committee. He stressed the joint aspiration of the two brotherly countries and their sincere desire to deepen relations between them, following the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Minister added that last November witnessed positive outcomes through the signing of the protocol amending the level of the presidency of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, to be co-chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister and His Royal Highness Prince Mouhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which embodies the extent of the common interest and eagerness to achieve desired goals. He pointed out that the first meeting of the Political Coordination Committee endorses a number of constructive initiatives to develop common visions to enhance strategic partnership relations and to continue joint coordination and unify stances towards regional and international issues of common interest. He said that the visions would be submitted to the second meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council for approval, expressing thanks and gratitude to the chairpersons and members of the Preparatory Committee for their outstanding effort in preparing for the convening of this meeting. He stressed Bahrain’s pride in the strategic role that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays in promoting security, stability and peace in the region, and the pioneering initiatives it adopts towards strengthened relations with allied and friendly countries. He said that in addition to the humanitarian initiatives undertaken by the Kingdom, it has launched an important initiative for a ceasefire in Yemen, the Saudi Green Initiative and the Green Middle East initiative. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressed deep thanks and appreciation to Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani for his generous invitation to visit the Kingdom of Bahrain and to hold the first meeting of the Political Coordination Committee. This, he said, confirms the consolidation of the approach adopted by the leaders of the two countries towards devoting bilateral cooperation in all fields, including political cooperation. He added that this meeting affirms the depth of the political relations between the two countries. The Saudi Minister also expressed his satisfaction with the positive outcomes reached in this committee, especially the implementation of a number of initiatives that have been agreed upon, noting the coordination efforts made by other sub-committees of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council and its work teams. In conclusion, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud expressed his hope to work from both sides to accomplish all that was agreed upon to reach the constructive results, looking forward to holding the work of the second meeting of the committee in Riyadh. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the initiatives and recommendations reached within the Political Coordination Committee, and the mechanism for their implementation after being approved by the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council. The two sides also reviewed the support and strengthening of bilateral political relations between the two brotherly countries, and emphasized unifying views on all bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest. At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Saudi counterpart signed the minutes of the first meeting of the Political Coordination Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On the Saudi side, the meeting was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Ahmed, Ambassador Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political and Economic Affairs Eid al-Thaqafi, and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the Bahraini side, it was attended by His Excellency Shaikh Hammoud bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Riyadh, Mr. Abdullah bin Faisal bin Jabr Al Dosseri, Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Wahid Mubarak Sayyar, Undersecretary for Regional and GCC Affairs. Dr. Shaikha Muneera Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies, Yusuf Muhammad Jamil, Assistant Undersecretary for Cooperation Council Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of senior officials in the ministry were also present.