New Delhi, March 31: Bahrain on Wednesday assured India of the safety and security of over 3.5 lakh Indians on its soil and appreciated their contribution to its progress and development.
With his country having faced unrest in the recent months, visiting Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa told External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna that last Saturday he met nearly 200 members of the Indian community in Manama.
Mr. Krishna thanked him for the assurance on the Indian community’s well-being and expressed the confidence that the law-abiding members the community would continue to be partners in Bahrain’s growth story in future too.
The Ministry noted that both countries enjoyed traditionally friendly relations, which were based on historical and civilisational ties.
Later, in an exclusive interaction with The Hindu, the visiting dignitary said he also held discussions with Deputy National Security Adviser Vijaya Latha Reddy on issues of bilateral interest.
Bahrain, he said, cannot envisage security architecture in the region without India, considering the country had people of different communities and religions living together in harmony and progressing in a democratic manner.
Mr. Khalid said his country envisaged a role for Pakistan on one side and Iran on the other. “We want Iran to be part of it [security architecture]…we want it to prosper and be as active as in the past as a responsible country in the region…” he said.
West Asia situation
The Bahrain Minister said that winds of transformation were sweeping across the region. Unlike other countries, the human development index in the six Gulf Coordination Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar – was much higher.
The people who were on the lower end of the scale in other parts of the region were vying for a change, he said, stressing on the need for true transformation in many parts of the area. His country recognised the need for changes in the political system, but unfortunately the movement was “hijacked and took a sectarian turn” between Sunnis and Shias.
Referring to the action against protesters, the Minister sought to justify it on the grounds that the intervention was aimed to prevent the movement from escalating into a civil strife, since it had increasingly acquired a sectarian tone.
Mr. Khalid said political dialogue would be the way forward; but that would be in the future, while current focus was to maintain law and order.
Countering the impression that the forces present were from Saudi Arabia, he clarified these belonged to the Peninsula Shield Force and would stay as long they were needed, while stressing these troops were not directly dealing with the people of Bahrain.
–Agencies