Foreign Undersecretary meets Bahrain Group of Friends at the European Parliament

Brussels, June 1 (BNA): On the sidelines of the seminar on religious pluralism and tolerance which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the European Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Affairs, Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Parliament , Dr. Bahiya Al-Jishi, met with the "Group of Friends of the Kingdom of Bahrain" in the European Parliament. During the meeting, the formation of the group was officially announced and Mr. Ivo Vajgl was appointed as its chairman, to be aided with members representing the main political groups in the European parliament including the liberal, conservative and European People's parties. In his turn, MP Ivo Vajgl, Head of the Group of Friends of the Kingdom of Bahrain said he was looking forward to activate the existing joint societal partnership between the two sides on the basis of common principles of law supremacy, protection and respect of human rights and freedom of opinion and belief, looking forward to more joint events the real image and civilizational development in Bahrain. The establishment of the "Group of Friends of the Kingdom of Bahrain" in the European Parliament aims to activate the role of the Kingdom in the European Parliament at regional and European levels, within the framework of bilateral cooperation and consultation and in consonance with Bahrain’s transparency and open-door policies. The move also aims to intensify the exchange of visits between members of the Group from both the European Parliament and the Kingdom of Bahrain to ease the exchange of know-how, bridge gaps in views and promote joint action. The move also targets the creation of a parliamentary group, characterized by objectivity and impartiality, to adopt the Bahrain-related issues to be raised by the European Parliament and highlight the facts honestly and transparently. During the meeting, the Undersecretary hailed the distinguished relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the friendly European countries and lauded the constructive parliamentary cooperation between the Kingdom and the European Parliament, stressing that the newly formed Group of Friends of the Kingdom of Bahrain will contribute effectively to the opening of new horizons of cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two sides. He added that the announcement of the "Group of Friends of the Kingdom of Bahrain" is another step on the path of cooperation and talks between the two sides and emanating from the joint bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the European Union as well as it is reflective of the Kingdom's efforts to promote dialogue with the EU institutions and underpin partnership and cooperation values with all parties. (Courtesy of MoFA)