India, Bahrain eye closer economic and defence ties; Jaishankar reiterates Gaza peace support

INdia and bahrein on mon proclaimed commencing negotiations for an challenging merchandise deal and inching closer to seal an investment pact as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held extensive talks with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani to further broad-base overall ties.In their talks, the two ministers also agreed to develop a common understanding to commence negotiations for a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA).This would help eliminate double taxation, provide tax certainty and promote trade and investment, officials said.Alzayani landed in India on Sunday on a two-day visit with an aim to further expand bilateral ties in the areas of trade, investment and defence at a time West Asia has been witnessing conflicts and geopolitical turmoil.In his opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar reiterated India's support for the Gaza peace plan and hoped that it would lead to a lasting and durable solution to the conflict in the region.In their talks, Jaishankar and Alzayani explored ways to boost bilateral cooperation in areas of defence, security, economic, trade, investment, health, fintech, space, culture and people-to-people ties.The two sides also resolved to work towards further growth and diversification of trade in areas such as electronics, petroleum, processed foods, base metals and gems and jewellery, according to a joint statement released following the Jaishankar-Alzayani talks.Bahrain is an important country for India in West Asia, and the overall bilateral relations have witnessed a major upswing in the last few years, with two-way trade reaching USD 1.64 billion in 2024-25.The Gulf nation is home to close to 332,000 Indian nationals who comprise nearly a quarter of the total population of 1.5 million in that country. India is among the top five trading partners of Bahrain.In the talks, both sides noted the progress made toward establishing the joint working group on trade and investment as also on the commencement of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, the statement said."These initiatives will further promote trade and investment between both countries," it said."Both sides welcomed the progress made in ongoing negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty."According to the joint statement, both sides also agreed to develop a common understanding to commence negotiations for a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA).It said the two sides expressed optimism for enhancing future collaboration in the areas of defence and security and cited the visit of three Indian naval ships to Bahrain last month."The two sides unequivocally condemned terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed strong commitment to combat terrorism, including cross-border terrorism," the statement noted."Both sides strongly condemned the armed terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, and expressed solidarity with the victims and the families. The two sides also committed to combat the threat of terrorism through enhanced bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including intelligence sharing, capacity building and cyber security," it said.