Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa traveled to Russia on May 22 at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. The two held negotiations the following day and as a result, the two delegations signed seven documents.
The meeting between the two leaders started with a conversation in a restricted format and then continued in the form of an official breakfast. At that time members of the delegations of both states joined for discussions on bilateral cooperation. It should be noted that there was also a meeting between the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the king.
The signed documents address aspects of cooperation in transportation, culture, health, education and ecology. The two sides agreed to organize the international artistic event “Russia seasons”. Русские сезоны” in Bahrain in 2025 and the two ministries of culture approved a cooperation plan for the period 2024-2027.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the National Health Regulatory Authority of Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the pharmaceutical and medical industry. The Russian Diplomatic Academy and Bahrain Academy of Diplomatic Studies, the health ministries of the two countries, as well as the Russian Ministry of Transportation and the Bahraini counterpart also signed memorandums.
The Kamchatka Falcon Center, the Roscongress Foundation and the Supreme Council for the Environment of Bahrain signed a cooperation agreement. Kamchatka Falcon Center is an institution established in 2022 in cooperation with Arab countries and Russian specialists that is involved in the rehabilitation, conservation and reproduction of rare bird species.
Trade between the two states is low, about $20 million. Russia supplies oil, coal, pipes and meat products and imports perfumes, semi-finished plastics and chemicals.
Iran
During the discussion with Putin, King Isa Al Khalifa also brought up his state’s relations with Iran. “I hope there will be good relations between all countries in the region, especially with Iran. In the past we had problems with Iran, but now we don’t,” he noted, adding that “we see no reason to delay the normalization of relations with them.” He emphasized the principle of good neighborliness: “We are trying to establish normal diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations with Iran.”
The government of Bahrain supported King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s statement on the normalization of relations with neighboring countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. IRNA cited a Bahrain Mirror report in which the Bahraini government welcomed and expressed satisfaction on Monday, May 27, with King Hamad’s comment during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
Bahrain severed ties with Iran in 2016 at the behest of Saudi Arabia seeking measures to respond to protests outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad over Riyadh’s execution of Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr.
Palestine
Russia was the first country that Bahrain asked to support the organization of a peace conference on the Middle East issue, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said, according to RIA Novosti.
There is total agreement among Arab countries on the need for a peace conference to resolve the Middle East problem. Russia is the first country we turned to because the Russian Federation is the most influential country in the international arena.
HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA
On May 16, the 33rd summit of the League of Arab States was held in Manama under the presidency of Bahrain (article link). The leaders of the participating countries supported the idea of holding a peace conference in the Middle East to discuss the creation of a Palestinian state and thus end the conflict.