HM the King holds talks with Kazakh President

Astana, Apr. 14. (BNA) -- His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today paid a visit to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Presidential Palace in here. On arrival, HM the King was welcomed by the Kazakh President who lauded HM's historic visit to his country. HM the King greeted Kazakh government ministers and senior officials while President Nazarbayev greeted HM the King's accompanying delegation. An official welcoming ceremony was held for HM the King. The national anthems of the two countries were played. Then, HM King Hamad reviewed the guard of honour whose members lined up to salute him. After that, HM the King held a meeting with the Kazakh President, during which they reviewed the good relations bonding the two countries and their peoples. They also discussed ways of enhancing joint cooperation in the political, economic, commercial and investment fields, as well as regional and international developments of mutual concern. Official talks then were held between the two sides in presence of both countries' delegations. The Kazakh President delivered a speech in which he welcomed HM the King and his accompanying delegation. He said that HM the King's first visit to his country would be a successful one and would herald a brighter future of joint cooperation. President Nazarbayev confirmed that his country considers Bahrain an essential partner in the Gulf, noting that both countries celebrate their national days on the same date of December 16th. He expressed hope that both countries work on reinforcing joint cooperation, affirming that the Kingdom of Bahrain has made numerous achievements and successes thanks to the wise leadership and sound policies policy of HM the King. He described the kingdom as a regional financial hub, stressing that Bahrain's economy and living standards have reached high levels. The President added that his country is also rapidly developing as its GDP has reached 220 Billion USD. He pointed out that HM the King's visit to Kazakhstan would give a fresh impetus to bilateral relations and enhance joint cooperation. After that, HM the King delivered the following keynote speech: "In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful "Your Excellency Mr. President, "Dear brothers and sisters, "Peace, mercy and blessings of God, "We would like to extend to your Excellency our deepest thanks for your valuable statement, for your warm welcome and for having invited us to pay a visit to the friendly Republic of Kazakhstan. "We also appreciate the warm welcome and hospitality which you offered to us and to our accompanying delegation during this visit, which testifies to the depth of the fraternal relations binding our brotherly countries and peoples. "Your keenness on building up firm and advanced relations with the Kingdom of Bahrain deserves our thanks and appreciation, as this is our common goal, which we aim to achieve. "We are also delighted today to sign a number of joint Memorandums of Understandings in the fields of political, industrial, food security, agriculture, culture, education, finance, investment, and media. These MOUs will solidify our aspired integration to serve the interests of our nations and people. "On the Economic level – which has become the core interest of nations worldwide - we have been keen, during this visit, to bring businessmen from both countries together, encourage the conclusion of financial, trade, and agricultural agreements and Memorandums of Understandings, optimize the benefits from available investment opportunities in both countries, in numerous sectors such as the Islamic banking sector, a promising and rapidly growing field in which Bahrain possesses great expertise. "We also encourage the participation of government and private sectors in Expo 2017 in Astana City and push for educational, cultural and tourism cooperation between our countries. "And in the near future, we seek to sign an agreement on avoidance of double taxation on income and tax evasion as we can also, by activating the Joint Bahrain-Kazakhstan Business Council, move forward with bilateral trade and economic relations to much broader levels. "Your keenness – Mr. President - on cementing the brotherly ties of cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states is something highly appreciated by all of us, Gulf leaders and peoples, and we can build on the genuine ties and strong will that unite us, to attain further cooperation, and coordination in different fields. "In this context, the Kingdom of Bahrain along with its GCC sister States, seeks to launch Free Trade Negotiations with Kazakhstan to attain the desired integration. "Your Excellency Mr. President, "Dear brothers and sisters, "It was a source of admiration and appreciation to have seen all this development and growth taking place in the friendly State of Kazakhstan across many fields, something to be added to the credits of your country, which has contributed with its distinguished scholars to the enrichment of the Islamic civilization and advancement of humanity, and still does, under your wise leadership, with even greater contributions in various domains and creativity fields, in an advanced country that enjoys prevalent security, stability and optimism. "Your Excellency has many leading initiatives, notably your call for the First Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building in Asia, which was for the sake of reinforcing peace, settling conflicts, consolidating regional and global cooperation against terrorism, and promoting tolerance and mutual understanding. "We strongly believe that our shared interests and common goals that unite us in the deep-rooted Asia such as the civilized heritage, great potentials and common fate constitute an opportunity for us to move with Asia from the stage of cooperation to a strong alliance. "We fully support Kazakhstan’s initiative to transform the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building in Asia into an International Organization. "Perhaps the most outstanding example of the existing rapprochement between us is our common interest in reinforcing dialogue among civilizations and faiths, where our two countries boast of leading initiatives in the field. "Bahrain will organize on May 5, that is to say around three weeks from now, the Conference on Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures, with the participation of elite and leading organizations, international institutions, intellectuals and men of culture, so we invite Kazakhstan to participate in this conference that reflects human diversity and religious and cultural pluralism in all aspects, to culturally enrich the conference and contribute ideas as well as help achieve the conference’s goal. "We value Kazakhstan’s honourable stances towards our just causes, its support for all the steps and measures taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain to maintain security and stability, the mutual back-up at international gatherings, its keenness on preserving regional security and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs and its dedication to unity among the people of our countries. "Bahrain will take the necessary measures for its accession to the Islamic Organization for Food Security, which Your Excellency was kind enough to host its headquarter in Kazakhstan. "We thank you anew for your kind invitation and for hosting us and our accompanying delegation, looking forward to you acceptance of our extended invitation to pay a visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, so we build together on our previous achievements, praying Gold Almighty to maintain our mutual love and fraternity. "Peace, mercy and blessings of God." After the meeting, the Kazakh President and HM the King proceeded to the Winter Garden, during which HM the King reviewed the modern landmarks of the Kazakh capital, Astana, as well as its comprehensive development. The Kazakh President briefed HM the King on the efforts that were exerted by the government toward developing the country in different fields. He also expressed sincere thanks toward HM the King's speech which focused on all issues regarding cooperation between the two countries through establishing a Bahraini- Kazakh businessmen council so as to activate joint cooperation and projects. He stressed that the Businessmen Forum, held here today, gathered businessmen from the two countries, affirming its importance in achieving agreements in the field of trade and investment cooperation. He also asserted the importance of holding meetings between ministers in order to further consolidate relations and expand aspects of cooperation. The Kazakh President stressed the need to establish joint Islamic banks and benefit from Bahrain's expertise in such field. He also invited HM the King to attend the Conference for Interfaith Dialogue which will be held in Kazakhstan in the upcoming year. Bilateral relations and ways of developing them were discussed during the meeting. In the presence of HM the King and the Kazakh President, three MoUs were signed between the two countries. The first was on bilateral consultations between the two Foreign Ministries, the second was on developing small and medium-sized projects between Bahrain's Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Modern Technologies. Then, HM the King and the Kazakh President held a press conference in which the President expressed delight at HM the King's visit to Kazakhstan, stressing the importance of such visits in consolidating relations and cooperation between the two countries. He also said that Bahrain is an Arab country and it was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Kazakhstan, adding that they consider the Kingdom as one of the most important partners in the Arab world. He said that both countries celebrate their national and independence days on the same day, stressing that his discussions with HM the King were fruitful as fundamental issues of Bahraini-Kazakh collaboration were discussed. He added that the MoUs which were signed today would expand aspects of relations between the two countries. He affirmed that views were exchanged on important issues of consolidating political cooperation as well as forming a committee between the two governments to develop bilateral collaboration in the economic and trade fields in addition to different sectors. He added that future goals for joint cooperation between the two countries focus on food security and agriculture, establishing a joint investment fund, particularly that Bahrain enjoys a vast experience in developing the aluminum industry, adding that in collaboration with Bahrain Aluminum company, an aluminum complex will be established in Kazakhstan. President Nazarbayev added that his country plans to cooperate with Bahrain in developing its Islamic Banking system and benefit from the Kingdom's experience in this field, as Bahrain is considered one of the Major centers for Islamic financing. He said that in an effort to boost the relations between the business communities in both countries, a business council between Bahraini and Kazakh businessmen will be established. HM the King then gave a statement expressing pleasure to be in Kazakhstan and to extend the warm greetings and best wishes of the Bahraini people for further progress and prosperity to the Republic Kazakhstan and its people. HM also expressed thanks for the warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to him and his accompanying delegation, which, he said, underlines the strong friendly ties between the two countries and their peoples. Stressing his determination to build solid and developed relations between the two countries, HM the King expressed delight to witness the signing of a number of Memoranda of Understanding in various fields including diplomatic, industrial, food security, agricultural, cultural, educational, financial, investment, and media sectors, pointing out that these memoranda will strengthen bilateral ties. HM said that in his visit to Kazakhstan, he sought to bring together businessmen from both sides to explore further aspects of bilateral relations, and encouraged the signing of financial and trade Memoranda of Understanding to best utilize the opportunities available for the two countries to invest in several sectors, including Islamic banking and other fields. HM the King said that the two countries can build on the close ties, sincere resolve and goodwill to further develop cooperation and coordination between Kazakhstan and GCC States in all areas. In this respect, HM the King said that in collaboration with its GCC partners, Bahrain will exert every effort to enter into Free Trade negotiations with Kazakhstan to ultimately achieve desired integration. Concluding his statement, HM the King stressed his strong belief in common interest and one goal the two countries share. He added that Bahrain and Kazakhstan, which are linked to the ancient Asian continent, can make it possible to move from cooperation to building a strong Asian alliance, taking advantage of their civilizational heritage, enormous potentials and resources, as well as shared destiny. Later in the day, HM the King attended a luncheon hosted by president Nazarbayev,in HM's honour and his accompanying delegation. W H Q