New Delhi: Ausaf Sayeed, secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) co-chaired the 6th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) with Bahrain and both sides noted the growth of bilateral trade and economic collaboration with bilateral trade reaching close to USD 2 billion in FY 2022-23, according to the statement released by MEA.

Sayeed, who is on a 3-day visit to Bahrain from May 29-31, co-chaired the 6th FOC with Mohamed Ali Bahzad, Undersecretary (Consular Affairs), MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Bahrain.

At the meeting, both sides reviewed all areas of bilateral cooperation including in the domains of security, space, youth, parliament, media & information, trade, energy including renewable energy, fintech, IT, Big Data, health, tourism, labour and consular issues, culture and education, people-to-people engagement, and discussed matters of mutual interest in regional and multilateral domains.

They also expressed satisfaction with the steady progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation and reiterated their commitment to further strengthening the relationship.

"They noted the impressive growth of bilateral trade and economic collaboration with bilateral trade reaching close to USD 2 billion in FY 2022-23, almost doubling from the pre-Covid period," the statement read.

Both sides agreed to work towards forming a Joint Consular Committee to discuss cooperation between MEA India and MoFA Bahrain in the Consular Affairs Sector, the statement added.

During the visit, Secretary Sayeed called on Minister of Industry and Commerce, Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro on Wednesday.

The Secretary also interacted with a cross-section of the Indian community in Bahrain including the Heads of Indian Associations, Indian Medical Fraternity and Indian Schools in Bahrain in a session held at the Embassy.

He reassured them of the high priority Government of India gave to regular engagement with the Indian diaspora and informed them about the Government of India's support and various welfare initiatives.

The Secretary conveyed the Government of India's gratitude to the Leadership and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for ensuring the welfare of the Indian community.

"The visit was positively received by the Government and the people of Bahrain, and it provided an opportunity to review and discuss further strengthening multifaceted bilateral ties between the two countries," the statement read.