ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Bahrain on Jan. 13-16 where he would meet King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Pakistani foreign office said on Monday, adding the talks would encompass trade and defense cooperation.
Pakistan and Bahrain have maintained close diplomatic, trade, investment and defense relations and have lately been focusing on strengthening their cooperation in key economic sectors.
The Pakistan president’s visit will be focused on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest for both nations, according to the foreign office in Islamabad.
“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,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
The development comes amid increasing economic engagement between the two countries, following the Pakistan-Bahrain Investment Summit in May last year. Both sides signed contracts worth $13 million at the summit.
Bahrain is also home to a significant Pakistani expatriate community, a major source of remittances to the South Asian country and often highlighted by officials as a key pillar of bilateral relations.
