Your Excellency
Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Members of the Indian
Community,
Ladies and Gentlemen...
I would like to thank the Hon’ble Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the warmth and hospitality extended to me and my delegation. This is my third visit to the friendly Kingdom of Bahrain. I am particularly delighted to be in Bahrain on the occasion
of the inauguration of new Indian Embassy Complex which is a testimony to the deep-rooted relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India.
India and Bahrain share a long relationship lost in the mists of time when a flourishing trade existed between the Indus valley civilization and the Dilmun civilization. Bahrain was a transit point for the significant trade route that saw the exports of spices,
ivory, timber and gems from India. For its part, Bahrain also had substantial trade with India in pearls and dates.
India and Bahrain in my view are thus the two countries which share a glorious past and a dynamic present.
The traditional openness and the goodwill, the high level of trust which Indian community enjoys in Bahrain and the regular high level visits between the two countries, including the landmark visit of His Majesty the King to India in February 2014 have brought
India and Bahrain even closer. The journey that began centuries ago has arrived at a new phase in its course.
The new Embassy complex is the embodiment of historical civilizational connects between the two countries and the culmination of the aspirations of growing Indian expatriate community in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
I am hopeful that the state-of-the-art facilities in the new Embassy would help us serving the needs of the growing Indian expatriate community in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Embassy has adequate facilities for a fully functional trade office to further facilitate
greater commercial ties, given the renewed interest and positive sentiments amongst the business community of the two countries.
The new developments that have taken place in the economic field in the two countries, will take economic relations to greater heights. This multipurpose hall where we all are sitting is designed to further strengthen the already existing strong cultural exchanges
and people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
In conclusion, I take this opportunity to convey our appreciation for Your Excellency’s consistent efforts to promote even closer ties between our two countries and to thank the Bahraini government for the support and cooperation in completing this beautiful
chancery building.
Thank you!
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