ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The Speaker of the Council of Representatives
of Bahrain, Fawzia Abdullah Yusuf Zainal along with seven-member
parliamentary delegation called on Chairman Senate Sadiq
Sanjarani at the Parliament House.
The Chairman Senate also hosted a reception in honor of the Bahraini
parliamentary delegation. Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjarani said
that Pakistan attaches great importance to its long standing fraternal
relations with Bahrain and relations between the two countries are
rooted in common religious and cultural values.
The Chairman Senate said that bilateral relations would be further
strengthened with regular high level political, parliamentary and
defense visits. The Chairman Senate congratulated the Speaker of the
Bahrain Council of Representatives and the people of Bahrain on the
golden jubilee celebrations of Bahrain’s independence.
The Chairman Senate said that Pakistani workers in Bahrain are playing
an important role in the socio-economic development of Pakistan as well
as Bahrain. He further remarked that we are grateful to the Bahraini
government and people for their timely assistance in dealing with the
pandemic situation in the country. He suggested that Bahrain could get
more skilled manpower from Pakistan.
The two countries could establish a mechanism for regular coordination
between the Ministries of Human Resource Development to benefit from
each other’s expertise and experience. With regard to the situation in
Afghanistan, Chairman Senate said that Pakistan has always emphasized
that a comprehensive political solution is needed and Pakistani
leadership has always urged Afghan leadership to work towards this goal.
He said that Afghanistan has been suffering from conflict and
instability for last 40 years and it has also negatively affected
Pakistan. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is essential for development
and prosperity in the region.
The Chairman Senate said that the bilateral trade volume of US 197.83
million per annum does not commensurate with the vast economic and trade
opportunities available between the two countries. Pakistan has the
potential to export agriculture, foodstuffs, livestock, fishing,
household textiles, leather goods, furniture and surgical instruments to
Bahrain.
The Chairman Senate emphasized that Bahrain could take advantage of the
vast investment opportunities in Pakistan in the field of oil
exploration as well as in the field of tourism. Pakistan is an
attractive destination for foreign investors due to its free investment
policy, high interest rates and ease of doing business. He added that
multilateral cooperation, including in the defense sector, was a sign of
mutual trust and friendship.
The leader of the delegation said that Pakistan is an important country
and Bahrain values its bilateral relations with Pakistan. She further
added that efforts could be made to take the relations to new heights
through institutional cooperation, speeding up the exchange of
parliamentary delegations and promoting trade and investment.
The leader of the Bahraini delegation described the visit to Pakistan as
very important. She expressed the hope that the visit would help in
furthering mutual cooperation and fraternal relations. Several other
Senators were also present on the occasion.
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