Bahraini Crown Prince Salman meets chief minister of Kerala

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister met Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala during His Royal Highness’ visit to India yesterday. In the meeting, His Royal Highness remarked on the rich, historic relations between Bahrain and India, noting the strong commercial and economic links the nations share. Expressing his keenness to further bolster economic and trade ties, His Royal Highness highlighted that India is one of Asia’s most significant economies whose longstanding programme of reform had contributed to its continued strong growth and success. His Royal Highness touched on his pride in the close links that Kingdom shares with Kerala, with a Bahrain’s 300,000 strong Indian community hailing from the state. Noting the esteem in which they are held, His Royal Highness stated that their contribution to the Kingdom’s society was invaluable. His Royal Highness pointed to the leading role Bahrain has played in the region in improving labour rights for foreign workers, in particular the Kingdom’s new 2012 labour law, which provides for freedom of movement, the ability to cancel sponsorships and the wider protection of labour rights. His Royal Highness expressed Bahrain’s commitment to sustaining and strengthening its economic fundamentals, provide a natural home to Indian businesses as the gateway to the Gulf. In doing so, he noted the rapid growth of trade between the region and India, both 114 billion dollar markets in their own right. His Royal Highness also praised the decision by Indian authorities to permit individual investment into the country, pointing to the rise in such investment from the Gulf. The Chief Minister of Kerala welcomed His Royal Highness’ visit to India noting the wide ranging nature of relations between the two countries and the value placed by India and Kerala in this visit, which reflected a commitment to the further enhancement of ties. Both His Royal Highness and the Chief Minister of Kerala invited the countries’ business communities to take advantage of the opportunities created by the close co-operation between Bahrain and India, particularly in Kerala, working through Chambers of Commerce, business exchanges and joint business events.