Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening ties with Bahrain based on shared faith and mutual respect.
In a meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama during an official two-day visit, Sharif noted the strong and historic partnership between the two countries. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, he emphasized Pakistan’s desire to expand trade and investment, adding bilateral trade was set to grow with the Pakistan-GCC Free Trade Agreement.
The prime minister invited Bahraini investors to explore opportunities in Pakistan through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), especially in food security, information technology, construction, mining, tourism and healthcare. He also appreciated Bahrain’s support for over 150,000 Pakistanis living in the country, thanking the king for pardoning Pakistani prisoners.
During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed the importance of their longstanding defense partnership and agreed to deepen cooperation in training, logistics, manpower and defense production. They reviewed the encouraging momentum in bilateral ties and agreed to further enhance cooperation in political, economic, defense and cultural fields.
Discussing the latest developments in Gaza, al-Khalifa and Sharif both agreed that peace and stability were long overdue for the Palestinian people who had suffered for decades.
The PMO statement said the prime minister had congratulated Bahrain on securing a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council for the 2026-27 term and expressed Pakistan’s readiness for close coordination during its tenure.
During the meeting, the king conferred upon the prime minister the Order of Bahrain (first class), the highest award given by Bahrain to Heads of States and governments. He informed Sharif that the kingdom had the privilege of being represented at a legal forum by none other than Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, noting he had remained Bahrain’s lawyer for a long time.
Sharif thanked the king for Bahrain’s generous support, including the establishment of the King Hamad University for Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences in Islamabad, inaugurated in September 2025. He also welcomed recent high-level exchanges and expressed gratitude for Bahrain’s solidarity following the recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan.
At the end of the meeting both sides expressed confidence that the visit would further consolidate the enduring friendship and cooperation between Pakistan and Bahrain. The king organized a banquet in honor of the premier and the Pakistani delegation at the end of the meeting.
In a separate meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Sharif noted the potential to raise bilateral trade, currently over $550 million, to $1 billion within the next three years. To achieve this, he proposed enhanced port-to-port connectivity between Karachi/Gwadar and Khalifa Bin Salman Port.