Ministry of External Affairs Government of India

Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs of India (MEA), paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the 6th Foreign Office Consultation between India and Bahrain from 29-31 May 2023. During the visit, he called on Minister of Industry and Commerce, H.E. Mr. Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro on 31 May, 2023.

2. Dr. Ausaf Sayeed and H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Undersecretary (Political Affairs), MoFA Bahrain co-chaired the 6th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), joined by H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ali Bahzad, Undersecretary (Consular Affairs), MoFA Bahrain. They reviewed all areas of bilateral cooperation including in the domains of security, space, youth, parliament, media & information, trade, energy including renewable energy, fintech, IT, Big Data, health, tourism, labour & consular issues, culture and education, people-to-people engagement, and discussed matters of mutual interest in regional and multilateral domains. Both sides expressed satisfaction on the steady progress on various areas of bilateral cooperation and reiterated commitment to further strengthening the relationship. They noted the impressive growth of bilateral trade and economic collaboration with bilateral trade reaching close to USD 2 billion in FY 2022-23, almost doubling from pre-Covid period. Both sides agreed to work towards forming a Joint Consular Committee to discuss cooperation between MEA India and MoFA Bahrain in the Consular Affairs Sector.

3. Secretary also interacted with a cross section of Indian community in Bahrain including the Heads of Indian Associations, Indian Medical Fraternity and Indian Schools in Bahrain in a session held at the Embassy. He reassured them of the high priority given by Government of India for regular engagement with Indian diaspora and informed them about Government of India’s support and various welfare initiatives.

4. Secretary conveyed Government of India’s gratitude to the Leadership and the Government of Kingdom of Bahrain for ensuring welfare of the Indian community.

5. The visit was positively received by the Government and the people of Bahrain, and it provided an opportunity to review and discuss further strengthening multifaceted bilateral ties between the two countries.

New Delhi
May 31, 2023