New Delhi: Looking to boost ties with Bahrain, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will begin on Friday a three-day visit to the Gulf country which is an important trading partner of India. This is Khurshid`s first official bilateral visit to Bahrain.
During his visit from December 7-9, the minister would hold discussions with the leadership of Bahrain and also attend the 9th edition of the `Manama Dialogue`, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Bahrain has been an important trading partner of India and non-oil bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded USD 1.3 billion in the last fiscal 2012-13. Besides, over 350,000 Indian nationals work in that country.
During this visit, Khurshid will also address a special session of the annual regional security summit- Manama Dialogue- organised jointly by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the government of Bahrain.
India has vital stakes in the security and stability of the entire Gulf and the Middle East region which hosts around 7 million Indians. The region is the source of roughly two-third of India`s crude oil requirements and accounts for 26 per cent of its global trade as the single largest trading region.
Khurshid will also lay the foundation stone of the new Indian Chancery premises to be built in Bahrain there and will chair a Conference of Indian Heads of Mission in the region.
