International Affairs Undersecretary inaugurates national e-platform

Manama, July 3 (BNA): Undersecretary of International Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, inaugurated the national e-platform for the membership of the Kingdom of Bahrain in regional and international organisations and bodies. This came during the first meeting of the members of the National Network for International Affairs, which was held today in the General Court at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of representatives of the ministries and concerned authorities in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In his opening speech at the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said: "The national platform aims to enhance Bahrain's foreign efforts, and activate its membership in all regional and international organisations, in addition to follow up on its various international partnerships, thus contributing to the development and coordination of programmes and actions to achieve the desired objectives. Undersecretary of International Affairs stated that the National Network of International Affairs was formed in all ministries and official authorities in the Kingdom as the outcome of a specialised workshop to strengthen the partnership between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 27 March 2019, and in implementation of the decisions of the Ministerial Committee for Financial, Economic and Fiscal Balance Affairs, indicating that the network aims to find common points of contact, to explore new opportunities and diverse areas with international organisations and their specialised agencies, to overcome obstacles of coordination and communication, to ensure the payment of mandatory financial contributions of the Kingdom of Bahrain in accordance with their deadlines, and to seek to reduce some government expenditures by reassessing voluntary contributions and other actions. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa asserted that the platform launch in its current form represents the first phase of a series of sequential stages to build a strategic national model aimed at enhancing the governance of our international partnership, and achieving the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the Government Action Programme. In this regard, he reviewed the efforts made several years ago to gather and compile the information required to obtain the current database, and then analyse and categorise it according to specific and professional criteria. The Undersecretary of International Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is at the forefront of the world in interacting with the purposes and principles of the United Nations for maintaining international peace and security, and achieving sustainable development goals 2030. He added that the Kingdom has succeeded in achieving qualitative strategic partnerships with many regional and international organisations, out of its belief in the importance of the close link between security and development, and the development of teamwork mechanisms to meet common challenges and create a safer and more prosperous world. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa highlighted Bahrain’s initiatives that have achieved global success, as well as its election as a member in many organisations and bodies at the regional and international levels, in addition to national personalities to take high international positions, stressing the need to take advantage of these qualitative initiatives and external successes, and invest in strengthening Bahrain's international standing. The participants stressed that this meeting is important to learn about the available opportunities to enhance the sustainable partnership with various regional and international organisations to get an exclusive look at how this platform is used and the information required from each side, and expressed their thanks for the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to launch this unique national platform, which will have a great impact on achieving the desired goals.