MANAMA, NOV 26 /DNA/ – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a comprehensive meeting with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Bahrain in Manama, aimed at expanding bilateral ties across economic, security, and strategic domains. The Prime Minister was presented a guard of honour upon his arrival at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace, reflecting the warmth and respect accorded by the Bahraini leadership.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the Crown Prince for the generous hospitality and praised Bahrain’s consistent efforts in strengthening ties with Pakistan. He congratulated Bahrain on securing a two-year non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2026–2027 term, assuring Pakistan’s full support and close coordination during its tenure.
Economic cooperation remained a central focus of the discussions. The Prime Minister highlighted Pakistan’s ambition to increase the current bilateral trade volume of over USD 550 million to USD 1 billion within the next three years. He noted that the Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement—now in the final stages of negotiation—along with recently eased visa requirements, would significantly boost commerce and investment. Shehbaz Sharif invited Bahraini investors to explore promising opportunities in food security, information technology, construction, mines and minerals, healthcare, renewable energy, and tourism. He also proposed enhancing port-to-port linkages between Karachi and Gwadar with Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
The Prime Minister appreciated Bahrain’s continued support for its community of over 157,000 Pakistanis and offered Pakistan’s readiness to provide more skilled manpower. He welcomed expanded cooperation in higher education, technical training, and digital governance, building on the King Hamad University initiative, and expressed gratitude for Bahrain’s assistance in the release and repatriation of Pakistani nationals.
Both leaders also discussed enhancing defence and security collaboration, with agreements to deepen cooperation in training, cybersecurity, defence production, and intelligence sharing.
Regional developments, particularly the situation in Gaza, were reviewed in detail. Both sides agreed that sustainable peace and stability in Gaza was urgently needed and long overdue for its people after decades of suffering.
The meeting concluded with renewed confidence that the outcomes of the discussions would translate into concrete progress, further elevating Pakistan–Bahrain relations across political, economic, security, and people-to-people spheres.
