Britain's new naval support facility in Bahrain opened by Prince Charles

A new British naval facility to support maritime operations in the region was opened on Thursday by The Prince of Wales.

The British Naval Support Facility's Welfare Block was opened by Prince Charles in the presence of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

"HRH the Prince of Wales is opening the new Welfare Block at Mina Salman," the British Embassy in Bahrain posted on its Twitter account with series of photographs showing Prince Charles interacting with Royal Navy personnel on Thursday.

The new block is part of the under-construction naval facility that is expected to be opened by next year.

Work has been ongoing since the ground-breaking ceremony was held at the base in November last year by former British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond and his Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The Prince of Wales office in a statement on Nov. 1 said that as the first major British base east of the Gulf of Suez since 1971, HMS Juffair makes a major contribution to security in the region.

The Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are on a visit to Bahrain to take part in events marking the 200th anniversary of ties between Bahrain and Britain.