President advocates for economic, security cooperation with Bahrain

President Asif Ali Zardari called for expanded trade, investment and security links with Bahrain during a meeting with visiting Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani on Thursday, according to Business Recorder. He wants business-to-business engagement to turn longstanding political ties into deeper economic relations. He identified potential in food security, information technology, digital services, construction, mining, port operations, research, tourism and healthcare.

The Bahraini minister is in Pakistan to take part in the third round of talks under the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Ministerial Commission, which opened with a restricted session before delegation-level discussions. The president also wants trade and investment ties to grow, and called defence relations longstanding and trusted. Pakistan has signalled readiness to deepen work in manpower, logistics, training and defence hardware.

Zardari also thanked Bahrain for supporting the Islamabad MoU and the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, as well as its backing for over 134,000 Pakistanis based there. Al-Zayani, who conveyed greetings from Bahrain's King and Crown Prince, praised Pakistan's mediation between warring sides and its recent term on the UN Security Council.