Speaker holds talks with European Parliament President

Brussels, May 12 (BNA): Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal, today held talks with the President of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola, at the EP’s headquarters here. The two sides discussed launching a new phase of bilateral cooperation and coordination, and agreed to create joint working mechanisms based on mutual understanding, dialogue, trust and respect. Speaker Zainal asserted that the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, adopts civilised practices, such as dialogue, as a firm approach, whether at the local level, or through its foreign policy. She indicated that Bahrain stresses the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states, non-interference in their internal affairs, spreading the values of peace, striving to establish security and stability in the world, benefiting from international relations to build mutual trust, and strengthening ties by following legitimate channels, which contribute to building an international relations system based on trust and respect. Speaker Fawzia Zainal expressed the kingdom’s dissatisfaction with the way the European Parliament handles the human rights file in Bahrain, stressing the need to reconsider a number of stances and decisions that are not based on objective methods, and are taken based on information obtained from unknown parties and do not reflect reality in the country. She affirmed that relations between friendly parliaments do not develop unless the correct means are followed and legitimate channels are used to obtain information, in line with the basic rules in international relations. She affirmed that the Kingdom is witnessing steady progress in the field of human rights at the levels of the legislative or institutional structures, or regarding the expansion in the effective application of human rights practices and principles that protect human rights and dignity, noting that all EP’s delegations which visited the Kingdom over the past period had been informed closely about the reality and recognised Bahrain's track record of achievements in the field of human rights. She called for the need to accelerate the pace of parliamentary communication between the Kingdom and the European Parliament. In this regard, she presented an initiative to launch a new phase of cooperation between Bahrain’s legislative branch and the European Parliament, by opening direct and continuous channels of communication and inaugurating a common work base, mechanisms and channels through which a number of joint projects are launched and bilateral dialogue is held to serve bilateral goals. She said that she is looking forward to considering the kingdom’s request to exempt its nationals from the Schengen visa, and to place it on the agenda of the European Parliament, as a culmination of rapprochement efforts, and based on the strong relations between Bahrain and the European Union countries in all political, economic, cultural, investment and tourism fields. Fawzia Zainal extended an invitation to the EP President to visit the kingdom in the coming period to sign memoranda of understanding, agree on joint work agendas and be informed about Bahrain’s landmark achievements, under HM the King’s comprehensive development march. Zainal, who is also the Speaker of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU), stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation between AIPU and the EP, exchanging expertise, coordinating stances and creating joint projects and programmes to achieve common goals. During the meeting, Speaker Zainal and EP President discussed the progress made by the Kingdom in the fields of youth support and women’s issues, regarding their participation in political work and the decision-making process, contribution to the national economy and ensuring their family stability They also shed light on Bahrain’s initiatives to achieve gender balance requirements in all aspects of national development, in addition to encouraging and supporting projects and initiatives that aim to diversify and raise women’s participation in the economic fields, support their work in civil society institutions, and achieve national goals and priorities that support their progress. EP President, Roberta Metsola, expressed her appreciation for the kingdom’s stances in support of international peace and security efforts. She indicated that the recent visits of the European Parliament’s delegations to Bahrain give positive impressions about the level of openness on more advanced levels in various files, and strengthen the existing parliamentary relations between the Kingdom and the European Parliament. She said that she would visit the kingdom in the coming period based on Speaker Zainal’s invitation, affirming that the European Parliament would study the kingdom’s request regarding the exemption of Bahrainis from the Schengen visa. Roberta Metsola expressed admiration for Speaker Fawzia Zainal’s initiatives regarding the creation of joint work mechanisms between Bahrain’s Council of Representatives and the European Parliament. She also backed her proposal to extend bridges of cooperation between the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union through establishing a joint working committee between AIPU and EP. She added that the EP is well-informed about the kingdom’s positive developments, commending the progress made by Bahraini women and their success in reaching influential leading positions, such as the presidency of the Representatives Council through free and direct elections, which is a precedent in Bahrain and the Arab world.