Dinner with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan

Your Excellency Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Tonight, we are privileged to be amongst brothers and friends whom the Kingdom of Bahrain counts on as good friends. My intention tonight is not to deliver a long speech but to make brief comments on the status of relations between our two countries. I wish to point out that a great speech has a good beginning and a good ending, and the two are as close together as possible.

Let me start by extending my thanks and appreciation to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for hosting this memorable dinner, and for inviting me this evening. This invitation is an important occasion to share thoughts and ideas to stimulate discussions about the close, friendly and strong relations that so happily exist between our two countries.

The message I want to flag at this occasion is that we are more than satisfied with the current status of the cordial relations between our two countries. In our relations, understanding is achieved through discussions and dialogue in political, economic, social, and cultural fields. Thus, my present visit, as well as my visit to your beautiful country in 1998 when I was Undersecretary of Defence, are part of the ongoing efforts by both Bahrain and our brothers and friends in Pakistan to discuss, understand and exchange views on all matters of interest to both countries.

We do so in order to understand each other on a variety of issues, and so that we can both benefit from our shared friendship and commonalities of interest and viewpoint to derive maximum benefit for our two countries from the contemporary international environment and events.

Our relations are deep rooted due to the historical links and human contacts between the two countries, which have been, and continue to be, reinforced by the political will of both leaderships. The strength of the relations between the two countries is based on solid foundations. Both countries have worked for many, many years to strengthen these relations. However, I believe we need to devise new ways and means to maintain and solidify these relations in light of current and developing international events.

Politically, we are proud that cooperation between our countries is strong and moving forward. As part of this strong cooperation, we are celebrating today the inauguration of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Islamabad. Moreover, our political positions in international fora are almost identical on many issues such as peace and security, terrorism, human rights, drugs and transnational crimes. I believe that we should explore all avenues to increase such cooperation in this field.

We recognise Pakistan as an important asset for training Bahrainis in the military field, and greatly appreciate the assistance provided by Pakistan in this regard. At the same time, Bahrain has stood side by side with Pakistan through difficult times, notably during the early stages of the war on terrorism. We provided military efforts in the Arabian Sea, as well as reconnaissance operations in neighbouring Afghanistan, with your help, to assist the international resolve against the scourge of terrorism. Such cooperation should, I believe, be maintained and built upon in the coming years.

Economically, the two countries are moving forward in developing their trading ties, but we hope to see further progress in other areas, such as investment and banking. The two countries have to take full benefit from the economic potential of each other. Pakistan has, for example, outstanding natural resources and manpower, while Bahrain benefits from capital, banking expertise, and a solid economic infrastructure that is crucial to any viable economic project. I therefore wish to take this opportunity to call on the private sectors in both countries to utilize such potential to the full, and to increase dramatically the volume and scope of trade and investment between our two countries.

Since its independence, Bahrain has enjoyed exemplary relations with Pakistan in terms of human contacts and cultural ties. Since that time, Pakistani nationals living in Bahrain have become an integral part of our economy.

Moreover, we find Bahraini students studying in Pakistan in a number of disciplines, while many Pakistanis train Bahrainis in various fields in Bahrain. We should exploit such human contacts to develop the cultural ties between the two countries. I will leave this issue for further discussions and suggestions by the relevant authorities in both countries.

Finally, I believe that the steps we are taking to develop our relations will enable us to move forward with confidence and are a clear demonstration of our will and determination to further strengthen our long-standing, friendly and deep-rooted ties. Through the exchange of visits and contacts at all levels and between all parts of society, we are expanding dialogue, building historical initiatives and cementing friendships on which we will build the development of relations between our countries and peoples. It is only by cooperation that we can make progress, and only through our determination that we will succeed.

Let no one underestimate our resolve.

Thank you.