Euro-Gulf Information Centre

 

Kingdom of Bahrain
 

Wednesday, 13 March—The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, visited Bahrain and met with his Bahraini counterpart, Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, as well as Bahrain’s Deputy King, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. They reviewed bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation and discussed regional and international issues of common concern.

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Wednesday, 13 March—Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, received the United Kingdom’s Defence Senior Advisor on the Middle East, Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer, in the presence of the Bahrain Defence Force’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Theyab bin Saqer Al-Noaimi, to discuss various security issues and bilateral strategic cooperation aimed at ensuring regional stability. Lt Gen Lotimer also held talks with Bahrain’s Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, and Interior Minister, General Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa.

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Thursday, 14 March—The United Nations’ Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, appointed Ms Khawla Matar from Bahrain as a Deputy Special Envoy for Syria. Ms Matar has extensive experiences working in different positions at the United Nations.

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Thursday, 14 March—A French business delegation led by the President of MEDEF International and the CEO of Fives, Frederic Sanchez, was received by Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and National Economy, Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, in the presence of the Chair of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bahrain, Reem Jalali, to discuss opportunities for strengthening cooperation between French and Bahraini private sectors, with focus on trade and investments. From Bahrain the French delegation continued to Oman to explore investment opportunities in the Sultanate’s Special Economic Zone in Duqm.

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Thursday, 14 March—The senior officials from Germany’s Foreign Office, Dr Philipp Ackermann, the Director General for Africa, Latin America, Near and Middle East, and Dr Christian Buck, the Regional Director for the Near and Middle East and North Africa, met with Bahrain’s Assistant Foreign Minister, Abdulla bin Faisal bin Jabur Al-Doseri, in Berlin to review the longstanding relations between Germany and Bahrain and to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation.

 

State of Kuwait

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Tuesday, 12 March—The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, and his accompanying delegation visited Kuwait, where they met with Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and other senior officials to discuss the strengthening of the GCC cooperation and review recent regional and international developments.

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Thursday, 14 March—On the sidelines of the 3rd Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, co-organised by the European Union and the United Nations in Brussels, the Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, held talks with the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. The Foreign Minister of Kuwait also  met separately with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, and the Foreign Minister of Jordan, Ayman Al-Safadi.

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Friday, 15 March—The Kuwait’s National Guard began joint military exercise ‘Taawun 4’ (Cooperation 4) with the Bahrain’s National Guard, held in Bahrain between 15-21 March, aimed at strengthening military coordination and combat readiness between the two Gulf countries, while also enhancing mutual exchange of expertise, particularly in counterterrorism.

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Friday, 15 March—The Kuwaiti delegation, headed by Kuwait’s Minister of Finance, Nayef Al-Hajraf, arrived in Athens, Greece to participate in the two-day Meeting of the Kuwait-Greece Ministerial Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation. During the visit, Mr Al-Hajraf held separate talks with Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, Yannis Dragasakis, and Greece’s Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, focusing on the ways to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and on the developments related to the financial reform in Greece.

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Friday, 15 March—The United States’ Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, will travel to Beirut, Jerusalem, and Kuwait City between 19-23 March. The visit to Kuwait comes as a compensation for the cancelled visit by the US delegation in January. The 3rd US-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue will focus on bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and investments, defence, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity. Mr Pompeo will also discuss regional issues, such as Syria, Yemen, the Gulf Crisis and the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) with Kuwait’s senior officials.

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Sultanate of Oman
 

Thursday, 14 March—The Secretary General of Oman’s Foreign Ministry, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi, and the Secretary General of France’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, held political consultations in Paris. They focused mainly on economic cooperation, particularly on opportunities in investments, trade and tourism, among other areas. 

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Thursday, 14 March—The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) and the United States’ Navy concluded the 5-day joint naval drills ‘Bright Lightning,’ aimed at improving combat