Crown Prince meets Iraqi Foreign Minister
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister today met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hushayr Zebari at Gudaibiya Palace.
The meeting came as Minister Zebari arrived in the Kingdom of Bahrain to open the new Embassy of Iraq and participate in the Manama Dialogue being held this week from 6 to 8 December in Bahrain. The meeting was provided the opportunity for His Royal Highness and the Minister to discuss the regional situation and its challenges, alongside the important ties between Bahrain and Iraq.
During the meeting, His Royal Highness confirmed that he shared Iraq’s concerns about rising violence in the region and underlined the importance of regional collaboration to tackle this violence, which frequently arises out of sectarian and social issues. His Royal Highness also stressed the importance of identifying and implementing solutions that also address broader political, economic and social issues in order to eradicate extremism and bring the region together around equality and acceptance of the region’s diverse cultures and societies.
His Royal Highness went on to express his vision of this cultural and social diversity of the region being a source of motivation to lay the foundations of national unity, which in turn can support regional stability. In this regard, His Royal Highness also emphasised the similar importance of transparency and responsibility at all levels of government and society to ensuring stability and protecting citizens’ rights.
Turning to bilateral relations between Iraq and Bahrain, His Royal Highness noted the importance of the two countries maintaining ties and developing the relationship in order to further engage with the issues facing the region. His Royal Highness welcomed Iraq’s pursuit of further bilateral relations with Bahrain, as demonstrated by the Minister Zebari’s visit and participation in the Manama Dialogue, in addition to the opening of the new embassy.
For his part, Minister Zebari expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to meet with His Royal Highness, and to visit the Kingdom. He reiterated that the opening of the Iraqi Embassy, as well the his participation in the Manama Dialogue, attest to Bahrain’s ability to engage with its neighbours on important regional issues and find the correct approaches to creating a stable region.
