PRESS RELEASE

NYPM 13 2012

02 OCTOBER 2012

PHL, BAHRAIN EXPRESS MUTUAL INTENT TO
FURTHER STRENGTHEN RELATIONS AT BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL LEVELS

Secretary Albert del Rosario shakes the hand of Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa during a meeting at the sidelines of the 67 th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Together with Secretary del Rosario is Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles. END

UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NY 29 September 2012 The Philippines and Bahrain expressed mutual intent to further strengthen relations at bilateral and multilateral levels, citing excellent ties based on common interests that “continue to grow through the years.”

During a meeting at the sidelines of the 67 th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa agreed to convene as soon as possible the first Philippines-Bahrain Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). The JCM will provide the framework and venue to identify and discuss concrete ways of expanding cooperation between the two countries.

At the same time, both Secretary del Rosario and Minister Al-Khalifa agreed that collaboration between countries could be enhanced at the multilateral level where “common interests could be advanced” by playing key roles in regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The Philippines is a member of ASEAN while Bahrain is a member of the GCC. ASEAN and GCC established formal dialogue relations in 1990.

Noting that Bahrain will be the next Chair of the GCC, Secretary del Rosario expressed the Philippines’ support for Bahrain and its initiatives at the GCC, particularly those which involve the enhancement of relations with other regional organizations such as ASEAN.

“Bilateral ties that consider the multilateral aspects of relations shows forward, strategic thinking necessary to encourage growth in the relations between nations in our interconnected world,” Secretary del Rosario said in a statement following the meeting. “We see this in our ties with Bahrain and we would like to provide further momentum to the growing relations,” Secretary del Rosario added.

Underscoring President Benigno S. Aquino III’s commitment to the peace process in the Southern Philippines, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles also briefed the Bahraini Foreign Minister on the latest developments and significant progress in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and on the implementation of the peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Minister bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa thanked Secretary del Rosario and Secretary Deles for the opportunity to extensively discuss vital issues with the Philippines and likewise expressed appreciation for the positive contributions of Filipinos living in Bahrain to the socio-economic development in the country. END

Reference:

Robert E.A. Borje
Second Secretary
Security Council, Fourth Committee, Press and Media Affairs

Philippine Mission to the United Nations
556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Telephone No. 212.764.1300 ext. 21