Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa held an official visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin May 23 for talks on a range of subjects, but in which the situation in Gaza, and the urgent necessity of holding an international peace conference, were high on the agenda. According to a report posted to the Kremlin website Al-Khalifa stressed that Russia’s participation in organizing and supporting such a conference is crucial, because of the respect and esteem in which he is held in the Arab world. Following this visit with Putin, Al-Khalifa is scheduled to travel to China, where he will attend the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum, and meet with President Xi Jinping, with whom he will certainly discuss the Palestinian crisis.
King Al-Khalifa last visited Putin in 2016, and was effusive in expressing his pleasure at meeting with him again. “I believe this is one of the happiest days of my life, and it is a pleasure to meet with you on this occasion,” he said. As the Russian President noted, while they haven’t met for a long time, they have kept in touch, and next year will celebrate their 35 years of diplomatic relations. In an initial restricted format, the two reviewed aspects of their relationship, noting “thriving” cultural cooperation and the potential for expanding bilateral trade relations as well as cooperation on economic, energy and humanitarian ties. The nations signed agreements spanning cultural cooperation, transportation, the pharmaceutical and medical industries, among other areas.
Bahrain currently holds the chairmanship of the League of Arab States (LAS), which held its most recent summit on May 16. In fact, President Putin invited Al Khalifa to attend the October summit of the BRICS in his capacity as LAS chair and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov reported that the King has accepted the invitation. Al Khalifa told Putin that one important purpose of his trip was to brief him on the outcome of the May 16 summit.