India, Bahrain sign 3 MoUs, release Joint Statement; PM Modi conferred Bahrain Order
India and Bahrain released a joint statement on August 25, 2019 during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bahrain. PM Narendra Modi is on an official state visit to Bahrain at the invitation of Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The visit of PM Narendra Modi to Bahrain is the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior officials. The visit marked a historical milestone in the long-standing friendly ties and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, received PM Narendra Modi and his accompanying delegation at the Gudaibiya Palace, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Bahrain and the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
PM Modi conferred Bahrain Order-First Class
PM Narendra Modi was conferred Bahrain Order- First Class by Bahrain’s King, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations of India with the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Order - First Class is also known as the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance.
Following this, detailed talks were held between PM Modi and Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain on a wide range of issues on bilateral, regional and international front. The Prime Minister also met Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
During the official talks, India and Bahrain expressed satisfaction with the current state of bilateral relations and agreed to further broaden and deepen the engagement in diverse fields of mutual interest, and underlined the importance of enhancing high-level political exchanges, defence and higher education cooperation, trade and economic relations and people-to-people linkages. The two sides also noted the increasing trend of bilateral trade and existing potential for two-way investments, reaffirmed their desire to provide favourable environments for trade and investments.
Following the talks, four Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two nations:
S.no
Agreement/MoU
Nodal Ministry /Organization
Signatory from the Indian side
Signatory from the French side
1.
Statement of Intent on collaboration between ISRO and National Space Science Agency in the area of Space Technology
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
Dr K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DoS
Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications and Chairman of NSSA
2.
Statement of Intent on collaboration of the Kingdom of Bahrain with International Solar Alliance (ISA)
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy/ ISA
Alok Kumar Sinha, Ambassador of India to Bahrain
AbdulRahman Mohamed AlGaoud, Ambassador of Bahrain in New Delhi
3.
Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Bahrain
Ministry of Culture
Alok Kumar Sinha, Ambassador of India to Bahrain
AbdulRahman Mohamed AlGaoud, Ambassador of Bahrain in New Delhi
Joint Statement: Key Highlights
International Solar alliance
India welcomed the interest of the Kingdom of Bahrain to join the International Solar alliance (ISA), recognising the importance of it as international intergovernmental organisation, which has become an effective platform to facilitate the deployment of solar energy.
Terrorism
India and Bahrain reaffirmed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators and their motives and they agreed to further enhance cooperation in the field of security, counter-terrorism and the exchange of intelligence and information. The two sides also noted the need for concerted action by the international community against terrorism including through early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organizations by the UN.
India and Bahrain further discussed ways and means to further promote cooperation in cyber security, including prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism, radicalization and for disturbing social harmony. The two sides called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries, dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they happen to exist and to cut off any kind of support and financing to the terrorists perpetrating terrorism from all territories against other states and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice.
Energy Cooperation
India and Bahrain agreed to enhance cooperation in energy, covering the areas of joint exploration and training of human resources. PM Modi congratulated Bahrain on the recent discovery of huge oil and Gas reserves. The Indian side highlighted the interest of its energy companies to pursue opportunities of conventional exploration as well as development of newly discovered oil and gas assets in Bahrain.
Maritime Security
India and Bahrain agreed to enhance cooperation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf region, vital for the security and safety of sea lanes.
UNSC reforms
India and Bahrain, both emphasized on the urgent need to pursue UN reforms, including the Security Council through an expansion of both categories of its membership, to make it more representative and effective in tackling global challenges.
Other Issues
India and Bahrain, both sides reaffirmed their commitment towards reformed multilateralism and underlined the need to strengthen and reform multilateral system and institutions to address the aspirations of the developing countries.
The two nations also agreed that regional connectivity projects should be based on international law including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. They also reaffirmed the commitment to pluralism, values of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and religious freedom.
India, Bahrain sign 3 MoUs, release Joint Statement; PM Modi conferred Bahrain Order
