Modi conferred top Bahraini honour
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa in recognition of New Delhi’s strong friendship with the Gulf nation and his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties.
Modi said: “I humbly accept The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance. This is a recognition of India’s strong friendship with Bahrain, which goes back hundreds of years and is expanding rapidly in the 21st century.” Modi asserted that India will be made into a USD5-trillion economy and said “we would like Bahrain to partner
India more closely for shared progress.”
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Bahrain. Modi and the Bahraini King reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. “Thank you Bahrain... This visit sets the ground for even stronger bilateral cooperation between India and Bahrain. The discussions with top leaders, agreements inked and community interactions were truly memorable, Mod said. “Hospitality of the people and government was outstanding,” he added.
Modi also spent time at the Shreenathji Krishna temple in Manama, which Modi said was “among the oldest temples in the (Gulf) region and manifests the strong ties between India and Bahrain.
“Here are some blessed moments from the temple,” he wrote in a tweet, and attached a video clip of the event. Modi addressed a gathering of 15,000 Indians at Bahrain National Stadium and appreciated their role in the economic development of the Gulf nation. Bahrain is home to around 350,000 expatriate Indians.
Three MoUs were also signed relating to collaboration between Indian Space Research Organisation and Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency; collaboration with India and Francepowered International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Bahrain.
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, India and Bahrain - a Muslim nation - called on all countries to reject the use of terrorism against other countries, cut off support and financing to terrorists and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice. Both also agreed to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism and exchange of intelligence and information.
A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and King Hamad and Prince Khalifa “reaffirmed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators and their motives, and they agreed to further enhance cooperation in the field of security, counter-terrorism and the exchange of intelligence and information”.
Modi congratulated Bahrain on the recent discovery of huge oil and gas reserves.
He also highlighted the interest of its energy companies to pursue opportunities of conventional exploration as well as development of newly-discovered oil and gas assets in Bahrain.