BAHRAIN remains a trusted partner for the US and the strong bilateral relations are vital to counter terrorism and ensure regional stability, a top US official has said.
US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet made the remarks during a visit to Bahrain yesterday.
“The relationship the United States has with Bahrain is very important to us,” Mr Chollet said.
“It’s built on our joint efforts to promote regional security, confront external threats such as Iran and counter violent extremism.
“It’s important that the US remains engaged here, because we have vital interests at stake.
“We have shared interests that we are trying to achieve together with our friends here in Manama,” said Mr Chollet during a Press conference held at the US Embassy yesterday.
The US official praised Bahrain for being ‘a gracious host of our Fifth Fleet for many years’.
“Bahrain is also a leader in the global coalition to defeat Islamic State,” he added.
He held talks with National Security Adviser and Royal Guard Commander Major General Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani and other officials. The two sides held discussions related to food security and health and military affairs.
Mr Chollet highlighted the success of Pope Francis’ historic visit to Bahrain last month and the success of the 2022 Parliamentary and municipal council polls.
Asked about the growing concerns and narrative of US disengagement in the Gulf, Mr Chollet told the GDN that the US would continue its presence in the region.
The idea of the US leaving the Middle East has been debated for the last dozen years, he said.
“The fact is that we are here in a significant way, not just in our military posture but also in our diplomatic efforts.”
He stressed US’ keenness to ‘deepen economic ties and people-to-people ties’ in the region.
The specifics of the posture will change over time, Mr Chollet said, adding that the US will, however, remain steadfastly engaged with its regional partners.
He also indicated that geopolitics was ‘changing in fundamental ways’.
“I know, in a few days, the Chinese President (Xi Jinping) will be here for the Gulf China Summit (to be held next week in Riyadh), and we have talked in depth with our partners here today highlighting US concerns.
“China has neither the interest nor the capability to try to build the kind of regional security architecture that the United States is seeking to build,” he added.
Mr Chollet said the relationship between the US and China was ‘very complicated’, adding that there were elements that ‘are adversarial’ and those that could be co-operative.
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))