Bahrain marks UN's 70th anniversary

Manama, Feb 21 (BNA): The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, affirmed on the strength of the special relationship between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations, thanks to the great care and attention His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa gives to building bridges of cooperation and lasting relations with the international Organization so as to promote common interests and serve regional and international issues. This came during a speech given by the Foreign Minister at the inauguration ceremony which was held this evening at the Isa Cultural Center for the launching of the documentary entitled "The United Nations and Bahrain: An Enduring Partnership" which was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme; marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of United Nations. Shaikh Khalid added that the cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations is not fortuitous, but extends to several decades ago, where Bahrain has sought to join the international organization's strategic role in the consolidation of international peace and security, and expressing as well as the desire of the kingdom to open to the world’s states and its organizations, as the Kingdom continues to be committed to this policy. The Foreign Minister noted to the Kingdom's commitment to noble goals established by the United Nations, was among the most important factors that have helped to strengthen the relationship between the two sides, where Bahrain planned, early on, for the overall development and has succeeded in doing so and was able to be a role model for other states in several areas, most notably in the empowerment of women and supporting economic activity and human development. Shaikh Khalid expressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s aspiration that through further implementation of the Economic Vision 2030, to have Bahrain be among the leading countries in development and progress in the region models and in collaboration with the GCC states, as well as through working closely with the United Nations bodies and specialized agencies. The Foreign Minister said he was confident that the future will witness remarkable development in the relationship between the kingdom and the United Nations, in light of their common desire to work closely in order to achieve growth and development in all areas, and promote the strategic partnership in line with future plans and priorities sought by the Kingdom, that are consistent with the sustainable development goals beyond 2015, that were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September last year. The Foreign Minister expressed deep appreciation to the Bahrain Telecommunications Company " Batelco" for their support in the making of the documentary, saying that their help provides an example of the interest in such efforts to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain's relations with the United Nations activities. For his part, The Resident Representative of UNDP in Bahrain, Mr. Peter Grohmann, commended the level of cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations in various fields, stressing the keenness to continuously enhance this cooperation and open up new areas beneficial to both sides. Following the speeches, the documentary which highlighted the relationship between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations, detailing how it originated and what are its characteristics and the stages it went through was shown. An exhibition of photographs documenting the history of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its achievements in the United Nations was exhibited at the end of the ceremony. (Courtesy of MoFA)