Pakistan, Bahrain look to turn political warmth into business

Mettis Global reported that Pakistan and Bahrain have voiced a shared wish to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, economic dealings and security. During a meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr, President Asif Ali Zardari told Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani that Islamabad wants political goodwill to turn into closer business links. Al-Zayani is in Pakistan to attend the third session of the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Ministerial Commission.

Zardari named food, information technology, building projects, minerals, ports, research, tourism and healthcare as areas with promise, and urged direct dealings between businesses in the two countries. He also credited Bahrain with supporting a Pakistani community of more than 134,000 people in the kingdom. He described the defence partnership as long-standing and trusted, and said Pakistan was prepared to broaden collaboration on manpower, logistics, training and military equipment.

Al-Zayani called the Joint Ministerial Commission meetings highly productive and praised Pakistan's role in getting conflicting parties to sit down together, which he said had saved many lives. He conveyed greetings from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The Pakistani side included Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and the Economic Affairs secretary, according to the report.