Foreign minister participates in China - Arab Cooperation Forum

Beijing, July 10 (BNA): Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, has conveyed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s greetings and best wishes of good health and happiness to President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China. This came as Shaikh Khalid participated in the Eighth Session of the Ministerial Meeting of the China- Arab Cooperation Forum which kick-started here today under the presidency of President Xi Jinping, and in the presence of the Amir of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah. In his speech at the first session of the Forum, the minister stressed that the forum, since its inception some 14 years ago, has achieved many important achievements that reflect the common political will of the Arab and Chinese sides. He noted the two sides’ determination to develop bilateral relations in order to achieve mutual interests in different areas without allowing political issues to be an obstacle to building strong foundations for bilateral cooperation and achieving the lofty joint goals. He added that the historical relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the People's Republic of China have always been close, and witnessed constant progress at all levels. Bilateral relations, he added, have received a boost during the historic state visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to The People’s Republic of China in September 2013, which opened new cooperation horizons in the political, economic, cultural fields and others. He praised the important contents of the opening speech of the Chinese President as laying out a comprehensive plan for the development of relations between the Arab countries and China and promoting the strategic partnership between the two sides based on comprehensive cooperation and common development for a better future. The minister also hailed the Kuwaiti Amir‘s speech as reflective of the Arab position on the importance of developing Arab-Chinese relations and lauded the great efforts being exerted by the two sides to develop these relations in various fields. The Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Bahrain’s support to the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping to revive the ancient Silk Road on both land and sea. He pointed out that Bahrain has expressed its willingness to join the Asian infrastructure Investment Bank, referring to the memorandum of understanding he signed yesterday with State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, on cooperation in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The Eighth Session of the Ministerial Meeting of the China- Arab Cooperation Forum was held in Beijing in which the Arab countries and the People's Republic of China condemned the terrorist acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain, which claimed the lives of a number of innocent security men and civilians. The Beijing Declaration affirmed full support for the measures taken by Bahrain to protect its security and stability and noted the Kingdom of Bahrain’s inauguration of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence in March 2018. It also stressed the need to continue efforts to deepen civilisational dialogue, commit to communication on equal footing, promote mutual understanding between Arab and Chinese cultures and reinforce cooperation to eliminate extremism. The Beijing Declaration was signed by the Arab League Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit , and State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi. The Executive Programme of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum for 2018 -2020, the Executive Declaration of the Arab-Chinese Partnership in Building the Belt and Road and the launch of the Arabic-Chinese Digital Library were also adopted.