Sudanese President stresses solid relations with Bahrain

Manama, Apr. 14 (BNA): Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, has lauded the depth of the deep-rooted relations between Bahrain and Sudan, noting that his talks with senior Bahraini officials, particularly His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, will yield fruitful results in the near future for the common interests of the two brotherly countries and their peoples. In an interview with the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on the sidelines of his visit to Bahrain, which concluded yesterday, President Al-Bashir reiterated his country’s rejection of any attempts to interfere into the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain from any party, stressing that Sudan backs any measure taken by Bahrain to safeguard its security and the stability of its people. "Visiting Bahrain and the meeting with HM the King is within the framework of the developed and distinguished relations between the two countries, amid the multiple issues facing the region, and require coordination and consultation on ways to address the situation," he said. The Sudanese President said that his talks in Bahrain covered many areas, especially the economic field, given the fact that Bahrain is a country that attracts and exports investments, including agricultural investment in Sudan, adding that ways to avail of the two country’s expertise in the technical and business management fields were discussed. He also affirmed that security took centre stage during his talks, noting that ways to strengthen the pillars of security in the region were discussed. On bilateral ties, President Al-Bashir said, "there is full coordination between the two countries to develop these relations, and the Bahrain’s Embassy in Khartoum will be opened soon. We also extended an invitation to HM King Hamad to visit Sudan." He pointed out that a land lot has been allocated for the Bahraini Embassy’s building, stressing that Bahrain’s existence in Sudan has become an utmost necessity amid the great cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of monetary transactions as Bahrain is a key financial centre in the region, and given the fact that Bahraini banks’ role in helping his country during the embargo imposed on its, expressing hope thشt the Bahraini Ambassador will be in Khartoum soon. He went to say that Bahrain is an important country and "we back all measures it deems necessary to protect its security and stability," stressing that Sudan has supported the security of Bahrain since the 1980s. President Al-Bashir added that his country, along with Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, including Bahrain, played a great role in forming the Arab Coalition to stop the Huthis in Yemen and reinstate legitimacy there. He pointed out that the problems faced by the region over the past years have created a vacuum which made youths embrace the extremist ideology as a result of the exploitation of some countries and groups of them, highlighting his country’s "effective" experience in confronting terrorism. On Iran, President Al-Bashir said that his country used to hold diplomatic and cultural relations with Iran, but after receiving news of the Iran’s attempts to sow sectarian strife across the Sudanese society, his country closed the Iranian Cultural Centre and cut relations with it afterwards. He called on Iran to co-exist with the countries and peoples of the region in accordance with the international norms instead of attempts to export its ideoplogy and interfere into the domestic affairs of countries. Regarding Bahrain’s investment projects in his country, especially in food security, the President Al-Bashir affirmed that Sudan had allocated lands to a number of GCC countries, including Bahrain, to set up projects aimed at achieving food sufficiency. Concluding the interview, President Al-Bashir praised the contributions of the Sudanese expatriate communities, noting that Bahrain hosts a distinguished Sudanese community comprising experts in various fields.