Swaraj to visit Bahrain for joint commission meet

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay a two-day visit to Bahrain starting Saturday to co-chair the second joint commission meeting with her Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, official sources said.

The first meeting of the High Joint Commission (HJC) was held here in February, 2015.

During her visit, Swaraj is expected to call on Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

She will also inaugurate the new Chancery-cum-Residential complex there, the sources said.

Issues of trade, investment and counter-terror cooperation are likely to be discussed at the joint commission meeting.

India is Bahrain's fifth largest trading partner.

When Bahrain's Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed Anuj Khalifa Al Khalifa had visited Delhi in April this year, he had fruitful discussions relating to possible long term arrangements with major Indian petrochemical companies for exploration and commercial extraction of oil in the recently discovered Khaled Al Bahrain Basin.

Terrorism and counter-terror cooperation is also a key area of strategic cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian community of about 3,50,000-4,00,000 people forms nearly one-fourth of Bahrain's population.