External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani co-chaired the third India-Bahrain High Joint Commission

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani co-chaired the third India-Bahrain High Joint Commission. The two countries on April 7 agreed to work together in key areas such as culture, energy, health, education, defence and digital. The government of Bahrain also thanked India for supplying 100,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine to Bahrain.

India appreciated the Bahraini side for facilitating flights under the Vande Bharat Mission and also thanked the leadership for the safety of the Indian community during the pandemic. The government of Bahrain expressed interest in setting up pharmaceutical and vaccine production units in Bahrain in collaboration with New Delhi, reported ANI. The Indian side welcomed the decision and agreed to help with the dialogue between stakeholders.

The Indian side proposed products related to traditional health systems be given official recognition in the Bahraini market. During the meeting, both the leaders reviewed the bilateral cooperation of the two countries over the past years, according to the press release by MEA. Bahrain Foreign Minister appreciated the contribution of the Indian community towards the development and progress of Bahrain. The two sides looked forward to celebrating the golden jubilee of the establishment of their diplomatic relations this year.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar also congratulated Bahrain on taking over as the Chair of GCC and looked forward to working with Bahrain to strengthen the India-GCC partnership. Jaishankar invited the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain for visiting India at an early date. Zayani also handed over a letter to Jaishankar from the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain addressed to Prime Minister Modi. Zayani also met Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. During the meeting, Naidu extended his gratitude to Bahrain's King for taking care of Indian community during the COVID-19 pandemic.