UNIPATH STAFF
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia finalized several initiatives targeting security and defense, cybersecurity, procedures for trade and transport across borders. They include transit of travelers through airports, land border crossings and seaports, networking, and electronically connecting the ministries of interior in the two countries.
Signing ceremonies took place during a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council at Sakhir Palace in Manama, Bahrain, in December 2021. The meeting was co-chaired by His Royal Highness Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Royal Highness Bahraini Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The two parties agreed to vote for each other’s candidates to regional and international organizations and bodies, hold joint training courses for young diplomats in the two countries, enhance communication and cooperation between consular agencies, and unify stances on international issues at the level of their missions in New York in the United States and in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Coordination Council, established by the two countries’ foreign ministers in 2019, has become an umbrella for most of the bilateral activities between the two Arabian Gulf kingdoms.
Several committees emanated from the council, specializing in developing aspects of cooperation in the political, diplomatic, economic, military, security, media and social fields between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia and the U.S., which are among Bahrain’s staunchest allies, have been committed to its security and stability. The U.S. and Bahrain have had a formal defense cooperation agreement since 1991, and the U.S. designated Bahrain a major non-NATO ally in 2002. There are more than 7,000 U.S. military personnel, mostly Navy, in Bahrain.
Sources: Bahrain News Agency, alayam.com, al-ain.com