President Asif Ali Zardari, who is on a four-day visit to Bahrain, highlighted on Thursday that Pakistan\u2019s strategic geographic connectivity, linking South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Middle East, complemented the Gulf country\u2019s financial expertise and regulatory framework. He expressed these views while addressing a reception at the headquarters of Bahrain\u2019s Economic Development Board (EDB), which is an investment promotion agency, a statement by the President\u2019s Office said. In his address, the president underscored Pakistan\u2019s commitment to expanding economic cooperation, investment partnerships and institutional linkages with Bahrain, the statement said. He \u201cnoted that the Economic Development Board plays a central role in shaping Bahrain\u2019s economic strategy, attracting foreign investment and supporting diversification across key sectors\u201d. The president further observed that the board\u2019s close coordination with government institutions and the private sector had helped Bahrain strengthen competitiveness, promote innovation and create a predictable and enabling environment for investors. \u201cPresident Zardari said the EDB\u2019s model of policy coherence and investor facilitation offers a useful reference point for countries pursuing sustainable and inclusive growth,\u201d the statement said. It added that he also noted that Pakistan followed Bahrain\u2019s development journey with \u201cadmiration and sees strong complementarities between the two economies\u201d. Highlighting Pakistan\u2019s ongoing economic reforms, the president said the country was pursuing stability, digital modernisation and investment-led growth. He pointed to the Special Investment Facilitation Council as a \u201cstreamlined platform to facilitate investors\u201d, with priority sectors including agriculture, information technology, energy, minerals, logistics and tourism. Moreover, the president identified agriculture and food security, information technology and digital services, renewable energy and logistics as promising areas for Pakistan-Bahrain collaboration, the statement detailed. It said the president also \u201cemphasised Pakistan\u2019s strategic geographic connectivity linking South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Middle East, which complements Bahrain\u2019s financial expertise and regulatory framework\u201d. While outlining economic opportunities, the president also referred to regional security challenges and their impact on development, reaffirming Pakistan\u2019s resolve to counter extremism, strengthen internal security and pursue peaceful relations with its neighbours, while safeguarding national interests, according to the statement. \u201cThe president reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s commitment to protecting investment and fostering mutually beneficial partnerships, and thanked the leadership of Bahrain and the Economic Development Board for their role in advancing bilateral economic cooperation.\u201d He further commended the EDB for its \u201cclear strategic vision and institutional strength\u201d, observing that Bahrain\u2019s success in positioning itself as an open and investor-friendly economy offers valuable lessons in a rapidly evolving global environment. The statement also said the president appreciated Bahrain\u2019s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa \u2014 who is also the Gulf country\u2019s prime minister \u2014 \u201cfor the warm hospitality\u201d extended during the visit. It said the president conveyed his gratitude to King Hamad for the conferment of the Sheikh Issa Award, describing it as a gesture that reflected the depth of bilateral ties and mutual respect between the two countries. \u201cThe president noted that the reception reflected the close and enduring friendship between Pakistan and Bahrain.\u201d The statement also mentioned that when Bahrain\u2019s finance minister began briefing on economic development, the president interjected with a light remark, gesturing towards the Manama skyline and saying that the progress was visible before him and needed no explanation. Separately, a post on the Presidency\u2019s X account said President also met Bahrain\u2019s Interior Minister Lt Gen Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa in capital Manama today. \u201cBoth leaders pledged closer cooperation on security, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism and reaffirmed strong bilateral ties,\u201d the post said. The president had arrived in Bahrain\u2019s capital on Tuesday and met with Bahrain\u2019s King at the royal residence, Al-Qudaibiya Palace. According to the Foreign Office (FO), President Zardari will also hold a meeting with Crown Prince Salman during the trip. \u201cThe visit seeks to reinforce Pakistan\u2019s longstanding cooperation with the brotherly Gulf nation while expanding opportunities for collaboration in trade and economic partnership, defence and security, and people-to-people ties,\u201d the FO said earlier this week. Last year in November, Prime Mini\u00adster Shehbaz Sharif, during a two-day visit to Bahrain, had reiterated Pakis\u00adtan\u2019s commitment to deepening ties with the kingdom. Discussing economic relations, the prime minister had unde\u00adr\u00adlined Pakistan\u2019s desire to expand trade and investment and said bilateral trade was set to grow with the Pak\u00adistan-GCC Free Trade Agree\u00adment. Bahrain\u2019s interior minister also visited Pakistan in September, with the two countries agreeing to enhance cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism, anti-narcotics and immigration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Asif Ali…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6543,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeetnews.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}