Pakistan, Bahrain aim to boost bilateral trade as Dar, visiting FM chair JMC meeting

Pakistan and Bahrain pledged on Thursday to deepen bilateral trade at the third JMC session held in Islamabad, Dawn reported. Ishaq Dar, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, co-chaired the session alongside Bahrain's counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who had landed the previous night for a two-day trip.

Dar recalled the earlier target of lifting bilateral trade to $1 billion and noted the goal of doubling it within three years, one of which has already passed. Joking about the timeline, he said that missing the mark by a few months would be excusable given how turbulent the period has been. The Foreign Office said the ministers welcomed the progress in high-level exchanges and discussed expanding cooperation in trade, economy and investment.

The two foreign ministers met separately at the Foreign Ministry ahead of the commission session. According to the Foreign Office, both sides exchanged views on regional and international developments and stressed that dialogue and diplomacy are the most workable way to resolve disputes. The JMC was agreed in 2014, and a memorandum of understanding aimed at business promotion was signed after the July 2021 session in Manama.