ISLAMABAD, NOV 19 /DNA/ –The Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain, Ms. Fawzia Abdullah Yusuf Zainal along with seven-member parliamentary delegation called on Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjarani at the Parliament House on Friday.

The Chairman Senate also hosted a reception in honor of the Bahraini parliamentary delegation. Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjarani said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its long standing fraternal relations with Bahrain and relations between the two countries are rooted in common religious and cultural values. ۔ The Chairman Senate said that bilateral relations would be further strengthened with regular high level political, parliamentary and defense visits. The Chairman Senate congratulated the Speaker of the Bahrain Council of Representatives and the people of Bahrain on the golden jubilee celebrations of Bahrain’s independence.

The Chairman Senate said that Pakistani workers in Bahrain are playing an important role in the socio-economic development of Pakistan as well as Bahrain. ۔ He further remarked that we are grateful to the Bahraini government and people for their timely assistance in dealing with the pandemic situation in the country. He suggested that Bahrain could get more skilled manpower from Pakistan. The two countries could establish a mechanism for regular coordination between the Ministries of Human Resource Development to benefit from each other’s expertise and experience. With regard to the situation in Afghanistan, Chairman Senate said that Pakistan has always emphasized that a comprehensive political solution is needed and Pakistani leadership has always urged Afghan leadership to work towards this goal.

He said that Afghanistan has been suffering from conflict and instability for last 40 years and it has also negatively affected Pakistan. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is essential for development and prosperity in the region. The Chairman Senate said that the bilateral trade volume of US 197.83 million per annum does not commensurate with the vast economic and trade opportunities available between the two countries. Pakistan has the potential to export agriculture, foodstuffs, livestock, fishing, household textiles, leather goods, furniture and surgical instruments to Bahrain. The Chairman Senate emphasized that Bahrain could take advantage of the vast investment opportunities in Pakistan in the field of oil exploration as well as in the field of tourism. Pakistan is an attractive destination for foreign investors due to its free investment policy, high interest rates and ease of doing business. He added that multilateral cooperation, including in the defense sector, was a sign of mutual trust and friendship.

The leader of the delegation said that Pakistan is an important country and Bahrain values its bilateral relations with Pakistan. She further added that efforts could be made to take the relations to new heights through institutional cooperation, speeding up the exchange of parliamentary delegations and promoting trade and investment. The leader of the Bahraini delegation described the visit to Pakistan as very important. She expressed the hope that the visit would help in furthering mutual cooperation and fraternal relations.  Several other Senators were also present on the occasion.