ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to visit Bahrain today, Tuesday, for a four-day visit aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two nations in trade, defense and security, state media reported. 

Zardari will lead a high-level delegation during his visit to Bahrain from Jan. 13-16, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Monday. The president will hold talks with King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa during his visit on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“The visit seeks to reinforce Pakistan’s longstanding cooperation with the brotherly Gulf nation while expanding opportunities for collaboration in trade and economic partnership, defense and security and people-to-people ties,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

Pakistan enjoys cordial relations with all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Bahrain. Islamabad and Manama established diplomatic ties in October 1971 after the Gulf country gained independence. 

The trade volume between the two countries in recent years has ranged between $500 million to around $1 billion, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry. Major exports from Pakistan to Bahrain include meat, vegetables, rice, tobacco and textile. Imports from Bahrain, on the other hand, include petroleum products, ferrous wastes and scrape and aluminum. 

Pakistan and Bahrain have established a Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) at the level of the foreign ministers to discuss trade and economic ties, take decisions mutually and supervise the implementation of these decisions. So far, only two sessions of the JMC have been held, the last in Bahrain in July 2021.

Zardari’s visit also takes place amid increasing economic engagement between the two nations following the Pakistan-Bahrain Investment Summit in May 2025. Both sides signed contracts worth $13 million during the summit.