Manama: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa here on Saturday.
She also visited India Pavilion at Bahrain Air Show earlier today, where she was given a briefing on the Tejas LCA being showcased at Air Show.
“Showcasing technology and expertise. EAM @SushmaSwaraj visits the India Pavilion at Bahrain Air Show,” Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Swaraj arrived in Bahrain’s capital Manama earlier today on a two-day visit. She is in Bahrain for the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum to deepen the country’s ties with the 22-member grouping.
The India-Arab League ministerial meeting, comes over a year after the two sides held their first Senior Officials’ Meeting in Bahrain in November 2014.
The Arab League comprises of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, Palestine, Djibouti, and Comoros.
Bahrain is an important partner for India in the Gulf with bilateral trade in 2013-14 exceeding USD 1.3 billion. Over 350,000 Indian nationals work and contribute to the development of Bahrain.
In February 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa, visited India and met Swaraj and discussed various aspects of bilateral relations, which included ways and means to expand bilateral cooperation in the field of education; trade, investment and commerce, security and defence cooperation, exchanges in sectors of media and communication and issues relating to the Indian expatriate community in Bahrain. (ANI)