Bahrain minister in India, holds talks with Sushma

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Bahrain, a key Gulf partner, and India held their first High Joint Commission meeting here Sunday during the meeting between its foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral, regional and other issues of mutual interest.

The Bahraini minister was paying an official visit to India Feb 22 at the invitation of Sushma Swaraj, who is also overseas Indian affairs minister. He was here to co-chair the first meeting of the India-Bahrain High Joint Commission with her.

India and Bahrain enjoy cordial and friendly relations, marked by close people to people contacts and regular high-level political exchanges.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, paid his first State visit to India in February 2014.

Bahrain is an important partner for India in the Gulf with bilateral trade in 2013-14 exceeding $1.3 billion. Over 400,000 Indian nationals work and contribute to the development of Bahrain. Their positive and well-appreciated contribution in the development of Bahrain has been an important anchor of the excellent bilateral engagement, said a spokesman.

In September last year, Bahrain announced a new visa policy for easy access to the country. The new visa policy enables residents of India along with 35 other countries to apply for electronic visas as of October 2014.