News

20 February 2009 09:31

Working Visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the Kingdom of Bahrain

PRESS RELEASE

Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, paid a working visit to Bahrain on February 18-19. During his stay in Manama, the head of Russia's foreign affairs agency was received by King Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain, to whom he conveyed a written message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, met with Prime Minister Khalifa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman Al Khalifa and held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa. An exchange of views on a broad range of international and regional problems took place showing the identity or similarity of the two countries' approaches.

A number of issues relating to the development of friendly Russian-Bahraini relations were discussed in detail, with the emphasis laid on the mutual interest in augmenting the dynamics of summit and high-level contacts, intensifying bilateral economic and trade cooperation, particularly in the financial, metallurgical, oil-and-gas and other industries, and developing cultural links.

Much attention was paid to the state of affairs in the Middle East in the context of overcoming the crisis development of events around the Gaza Strip and improving the humanitarian situation there, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of inter-Palestinian reconciliation and the resumption of a comprehensive Middle East settlement process. There was reaffirmed the mutual interest in holding an International Conference for Middle East settlement in Moscow in the first half of the current year.

The sides spoke in favor of a peaceful solution to the problem of Iran's nuclear program and for joint, coordinated efforts to ensure stability, peace and security in the Persian Gulf.

The question of combating new challenges and threats, including transnational terrorism as a universal evil, which neither has nor can have any religious or civilizational coloring, was also touched on.

In discussing the theme of a dialogue among civilizations, it was stated that in the conditions when the tension in interfaith relations is ever more noticeable in a number of countries and is increasingly dominant in international affairs, Russia and Bahrain promote the ideas of mutual understanding and respect and champion a stronger inter-civilization partnership.

The Manama talks and meetings were held in a frank and friendly atmosphere, and demonstrated the mutual interest of the two countries in advancing their relations in all fields and using the new opportunities opening up for them.

February 20, 2009

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Bilateral relations

Russia-Bahrain relations

Diplomatic relations between the USSR and the Kingdom of Bahrain were established on September 29, 1990. Bahrain recognised Russia as the successor state to the USSR on December 28, 1991.

The countries support active political dialogue and the exchange of delegations. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain has visited Russia many times (in December 2008, October 2014, February and September 2016). In October 2014, King Hamad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visited the first Russian Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi. In 2016, the Bahraini King held talks with the Russian President twice: on February 8 in Sochi and on September 6 in Moscow. The meeting in September resulted in signing an intergovernmental agreement on establishing the bilateral intergovernmental commission as well as memorandums of understanding between Bahraini NOGA Holding, on one side, and Gazprom and ROSGEO, on the other. During his visit, King Hamad also took part in the Army 2016 International Military-Technical Forum.

In May 2014, Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa arrived in Russia on a working visit. He had meetings with Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov. During his visit, the Crown Prince also visited St Petersburg.

Traditionally close contacts with the Bahraini leadership are maintained by Viktor Zubkov, Special Presidential Representative for Cooperation with Gas Exporting Countries Forum and Chairman of Gazprom’s Board of Directors. In January 2016, he visited Bahrain again and took part in the BIAS-2016 international airshow and held talks with the King, prime minister, foreign minister and minister of energy. During the discussion, the Bahraini side reaffirmed its interest in intensifying cooperation in the gas sector.

Contacts are maintained between the countries’ foreign ministries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Bahrain in 2008 as part of a tour of Persian Gulf countries. Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled Al Khalifa had working visits to Moscow in 2006, 2012 and December 2015. An important platform for cooperation with Bahrain is the ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue between Russia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). The most recent round was held in May 2016 in Moscow.

Representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry attend the Manama Dialogue, an international regional security summit on the Middle East held in Bahrain every year.

Interparliamentary ties continue to advance. In June 2013, a Bahraini parliamentary delegation visited Moscow and had meetings with State Duma Deputy Nikolai Levichev and senior members of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee.

Active contacts with members of Bahrain’s parliament are maintained by Federation Council Deputy Chairman Ilyas Umakhanov.

Russia-Bahraini trade and economic cooperation has recently seen positive developments. At the end of 2016, trade between the two countries stood at $53.9 million ($12.2 million in 2015).

The Kingdom of Bahrain ranks as Russia’s 124^th largest foreign trading partner. Russia exports to Bahrain metal and pulp and paper products. Oil and aluminum products are imported from Bahrain in small quantities.

In 2016, the Intergovernmental Russian-Bahraini Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was established. Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov was appointed chairman of the Russian side, and Minister of Industry and Commerce Zayed Al Zayani was appointed chairman of the Bahraini side.

In February 2017, the first meeting of the Commission was held in Manama. During this meeting, the key issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation were discussed, such as investment cooperation, energy (including the oil and gas sector and peaceful use of nuclear energy), bilateral cooperation at the regional level, the agricultural sector, geological exploration, subsurface management and interbank cooperation.

Cooperation in investment is also developing. In 2014, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Bahraini Mumtalakat Fund signed a memorandum of understanding which envisages Bahraini business participation in Russian projects. Mumtalakat’s investment package into the RDIF totals $250 million. The agreement between the Russian and Bahraini governments to promote and mutually protect the investments, which came into effect in December 2015, helps to advance investment cooperation.

The legal framework includes intergovernmental agreements : On Air Communication (1994), Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation (1999), Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments (2015), Visa Waiver for Holders of Diplomatic, Service and Special Passports (2016), Military-Technical Cooperation, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and Extradition (signed in 2015).

Russia and Bahrain have signed a number of ministry agreements and memorandums: Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign Ministries (2006), Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of Culture on Cooperation in Culture (2008), Memorandum of Understanding between Rosatom and the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain on Cooperation in the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy (2008), Cooperation Agreement between the Interior Ministries (2009), Memorandum between the Russian Federal Drug Control Service and the Bahraini Ministry of Internal Affairs on Cooperation in Combating Illicit Turnover of Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors (2009), Memorandum of Understanding between the Air Agencies on Bilateral Cooperation in Civil Aviation (2014), and Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Bahraini Mumtalakat Investment Holding (2014).

Bilateral cooperation in aviation continues to make progress. In October 2014, direct flights between Russia and Bahrain were established: the Bahraini national air company Gulf Air operates flights from Manama to Moscow to Manama four times a week.

Since 2010, the Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration team has taken part in the biennial Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS), except in 2016 (Iran did not allow Russia to fly above its territory).

Cultural cooperation. In the framework of King Hamad’s visit to Russia on October 11−12, 2014, Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky and Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa signed the Programme of Cooperation between the Ministries of Culture for 2015−2017, as well as the Programme of Joint Actions in Tourism for 2015−2016.

Bahraini Minister of Culture Mai bint Mohammed al Khalifa participated in the 3^rd St Petersburg International Cultural Forum held on December 7−9, 2014.

In September and October 2013, Days of Bahraini Culture were held in Moscow and St Petersburg, which included a number of successful art exhibitions.

Cooperation with compatriots residing in the Kingdom (300) is carried out via the Bahraini Association of Russian Speakers.

Kingdom of Bahrain

Kingdom of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an Arab country located in the Persian Gulf near the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The area of all islands is 717 square kilometres. The largest island is Bahrain (587 square kilometres) connected to the Arabian Peninsula with a 260-km-long causeway.

Climate: dry and tropical.

Population: is 1,472,000, with 55 percent being Bahraini (approximately 809,000) and the rest being immigrants (mainly from Asian countries). The average lifespan is 73 years for men and 76 years for women.

Administrative division: The capital is Manama. The country is divided into five governorates: Manama, Muharraq, Northern and Southern governorates.

State religion: Islam, with 85 percent Muslim (60 percent are Shiites and 30 percent are Sunnis, including the ruling family). Other religions are represented by 10 percent of the population. There is a vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Manama.

The official language: Arabic, while English is commonly spoken. A part of the population (Iranian by origin) also speaks Farsi.

National holiday: December 16. This public holiday was established to celebrate the accession of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the first Emir of Bahrain, in 1961

Weekend: Friday and Saturday.

Currency: Bahraini dinar, tied to the US dollar (0.376 dinar equals $1)

History: A Portuguese colony (16^th century), then Iranian (17^th−19^th centuries), and a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 1871 to August 15, 1971 when Bahrain declared its independence.

In 2002, Bahrain was declared the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Emir proclaimed himself the King.

Political system: Constitutional monarchy.

Head of state: H. M. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The Crown Prince is the King’s eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who also is Deputy Supreme Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force and First Deputy Prime Minister.

The Head of Government is His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The Foreign Minister is His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The parliament (National Assembly) consists of two houses. The upper house is the Consultative Council with 40 members appointed by the King. The Chairman is Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh. The lower house is the Council of Representatives with 40 members elected by popular vote. The Speaker is Ahmed Bin Ibrahim Al-Mulla. The last elections were held in November 2014, and the next ones will take place in 2018.

Since 2005, political organisations have officially been permitted (16 are registered).

Economy: 2016 resulted in a GDP of US $32 billion. Economic growth is 2.1 percent. Gold and currency reserves are worth US $6 billion. State debt stands at about US $25 billion. Inflation is 2 percent. The GDP is structured as follows: 53 percent accounts for services, 46.7 percent for industry and 0.3 percent for agriculture.

The explored oil reserves are about 1.3 billion barrels (177.35 million tonnes). Production volume (69 million barrels per year) is steadily declining, which means that Bahrain has to import oil from its neighbour Saudi Arabia. The explored natural gas reserves are 91 billion cubic metres. Production volume stands at 19 billion cubic metres per year.

An important source of the budget revenue is tourism (about US $1 billion). Over 8 million tourists visit Bahrain every year (75 percent are “weekend tourists” from Saudi Arabia).

Foreign trade (in USD): $19.4 billion in exports: oil and oil products ($15.9 billion), rolled aluminum ($1 billion). $11.9 billion in imports: hydrocarbon raw materials ($8.4 billion, mostly crude oil from Saudi Arabia), machinery and electrical equipment (about $1 billion).

Defence sector consists of armed forces (the Bahrain Defence Force), units of the Internal Ministry (police), the National Guard (established in 1997) and the National Security Agency. Every structure has its own special units. The King is Commander-in-Chief. The armed forces have 8,200 service members, including ground troops (army) – 6,000, Air Force – 1,500, and the Navy – 700.

Domestic policy: The Bahraini leaders focus their attention on internal security and pursue a policy of strengthening national unity. In 2013, the King initiated a national dialogue. Its goal is to settle the disputes between the authorities and the opposition and outline ways to develop the country. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa was appointed to lead the national dialogue.

Foreign policy: Bahrain has a common foreign policy with the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

Diplomatic and consular missions of Russia

Embassy of Russia in Manama
Consular Division of the Russian Embassy in Manama

Bahrain

Embassy of Russia in Manama

Address :: Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bahrain, 877, Road 3119, Block 331, Zinj, Manama, P.O. Box 26612

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Phone :: +973 17-72-52-22
Hotline :: +973 39-40-32-37
Fax: +973 17-72-59-21
E-mail: bahrain@mid.ru
Web: https://bahrain.mid.ru; Twitter; Instagram; Telegram; Vkontakte

Bahrain

Consular Division of the Russian Embassy in Manama

Address :: Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of Bahrain P.O. Box 26612 Address: Villa 877, Road 3119, Block 331, Zinj, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain