Two important agreements were signed between Britain and Bahrain on Thursday during the official visit of Bahrain’s crown prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. During the meeting with British Prime Minister Kir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, the two leaders monitored an agreement called strategic investment and cooperation partnership (SIP2), which is considered an important step towards molding bilateral investment between the two countries into the new structure.
Under this agreement, Bahrain’s private sector will invest £ 2 billion ($ 2.7 billion) in major areas such as finance, technology, construction and carbon renovation in the UK. The agreement was signed by Bahrain Finance Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Britain Finance Minister Rechil Reves.
Second Agreement: Defense Cooperation Accord
The second major agreement was about defense cooperation, which aims to increase joint training and operational capacity between the armies of the two countries. This is a solid step towards strengthening the existing maritime partnership. It was signed by Bahrain’s Defense Minister Lieutenant General Abdullah Al Nuaimi and Britain’s Defense Minister John Heli.
Further intensity
During this meeting, Yuvraj Salman said that the relationship between the two countries under the leadership of King Hamad and King Charles is constantly getting stronger. The two leaders reviewed the progress of the UK-GCC Free Trade Agreement and Yuvraj described the full participation in “Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement” by Britain.
Discussion on regional and global issues
Expressing concern over the recent tension between Israel and Iran, the two leaders stressed the immediate need to reduce stress and restore dialogues. He also demanded immediate ceasefire in Gaza, uninterrupted access to humanitarian aid and the release of hostages by Hamas. Prime Minister Starmer congratulated Bahrain on being elected for 2026-2027 term as a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council and the two countries committed to work together for diplomatic cooperation and global stability during this period.
