The Kingdom of Bahrain today celebrates the 51st anniversary of the National Day of the United Arab Emirates, which is a cherished national occasion celebrated by the UAE every December 2 since 1971, when the UAE was declared as an independent sovereign federal state.
Bahrain and the UAE boast long-standing robust unique relations that reflect the fraternal ties between their leaderships and peoples, resulting in comprehensive complementarity in the political, security, economic and diplomatic fields, as well as in coordinated stances vis-à-vis regional and global challenges.
The importance of the Bahrain-UAE relations stems from the two countries’ political weight, distinctive geographical and strategic location and adoption of a rational and balanced foreign policy. They are also regional pioneering models for consolidating the foundations of democracy, human rights, freedoms and progress, as well as in achieving the well-being, security and stability for their citizens, and consolidating the state of law and law.
The Bahrain-UAE relations are diverse and cover various fields, particularly the political and economic ones to which the two countries’ leaderships attach utmost attention. For this reason, the Joint Higher Ministerial Committee was established to oversee the mechanisms of joint action and projects, as well as activate bilateral agreements to achieve the forecast goals.
The regular visits of the two countries’ leaders and senior officials since ancient times reflect their similar stances regarding strategic issues of mutual interest. In fact, the two brotherly countries have always adopted similar political stances vis-à-vis various regional and global issues.
During the previous decade, the two countries played a pivotal role in calling for promoting peace, spreading the culture of coexistence and serving humanity.
Regarding economic cooperation and partnership, Bahrain and the UAE enjoy robust economic and trade ties, as reflected in the remarkable growth of the volume of their trade exchange and joint investment.
On November 9, 2021, the two countries signed a number of executive programmes and MoUs, in the presence of UAE President, HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
On October 23, 2022, the 10th session of the Bahrain-UAE Joint Higher Committee convened in the kingdom and agreed on implementing the outcomes of previous meetings.
Military and security cooperation is one of the main pillars of the existing partnership and integration relations between the two countries, in line with their keenness to defend their security and stability, as well as confront any threats to the security of the region, foremost of which is the fight against terrorism. In fact, the Bahrain Defence Force and the UAE Ministry of Defence have signed many agreements and MoUs to exchange military expertise and hold regular tactical drills.
In this regard, the Bahrain-UAE joint anti-terrorism drill, ‘Jelmoud 3’, was conducted in the kingdom last month, in the presence of HM King Hamad, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, UAE President, the Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and HRH the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister.
In addition to the political, economic and military fields, the two brotherly countries also set the example in cooperation in the field of space sciences, as reflected in their success in attaining a unique scientific and technological achievement by launching the first Bahraini-UAE joint satellite, “Light 1” in 2021.
What’s more, the two countries share keenness to preserve the environment, resort to renewable energy sources, invest in green cities and contribute to international efforts to mitigate climate change effects by reaching carbon neutrality (Net Zero) by 2050.
The Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International & Energy Studies (Derasat), out of its desire to document the Bahraini-UAE relations, launched, in collaboration with the UAE National Foundation, a book entitled: “Bahrain-Emirati Strategic Partnership … Legacy of the Past … Challenges of the Future … Future Opportunities”.
Launched at Expo 2020 Dubai, the book documents the deep-rooted bilateral relations, which will inspire future generations to continue strengthening bilateral ties.
Source: Bahrain News Agency