His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander hailed strong relations bonding Bahrain and South Korea, pointing out in this regard projects and fruitful programmes in the industrial and technical sectors.
He stressed the need to diversify alliances, political, economic and trade relations in an ever-changing world to ensure greater development potential.
HRH Prince Salman was speaking as he met South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, in the presence of his son Shaikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
President Lee Myung-bak reaffirmed his country’s keenness on bolstering bilateral relations with Bahrain and multilateral ties with the GCC- describing the drive as a strategic cornerstone of high value.
President Lee Myung-bak welcomed HRH Prince Salman describing his landmark visit to South Korea as a major boost for bilateral relations.
He stressed the importance of exchanging visits between officials for joining cooperation to be bolstered even further.
He extended his greetings to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, stressing opportunities to promote cooperation in different fields.
HRH Prince Salman hailed South’s world standing lauding its economic and development strides, sound politics and landmark progress.
“We in the Kingdom of Bahrain look forward to benefiting from the South Korean development edge and technological know-how and further bolstering relations for both countries to reap the dividends.
Present were Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan bin Abdulla Fakhro, Crown Prince Court Advisor for Economic and Political Affairs Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince’s Court Chief Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al-Khalifa, Court Advisor Shaikh Ahmed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa and Bahrain Ambassador to China and Non-resident Ambassador to South Korea Bibi Al-Sayyed Sharaf.
HRH Prince Salman earlier held talks with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on joint cooperation. He hailed South Koreans’ determination, creativity and keenness on enhancing their country’s productivity and pushing forward development.
He stressed Bahrain’s ambition to benefit for South Korean success stories and technological prowess. He also voiced his confidence in the capacity of Bahrain to overcome the challenges and emerge stronger thanks to HM King Hamad’s determination and leadership. Prime Minister – Han Duck Soo hosted a dinner banquet in honour of HRH the Crown Prince, in the presence of Shaikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and the accompanying delegation.
The South Korean Premier stressed his country’s support for the national dialogue as keenness on Bahrain’s stability for development to continue.
HRH Prince Salman thanked the South Korean Premier for the hospitality, warm welcome and support for Bahrain’s stability, stressing resolve to continue political reforms in tandem with economic development under the leadership of HM King Hamad.
HRH Prince Salman and Prime Minister Han Duck Soo attended the signing of an agreement on avoiding double taxation and fiscal evasion.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa sealed the deal, on behalf of the Finance Minister, along with South Korean Foreign Minister and Trade Acting Minister Woo-hyun.
HRH Prince Salman also met South Korean General Management and Security Minister and responsible for e-Government Hyung-kyu Maeng and hailed South Korean technological strides and knowledge-based economy.
He stressed the importance of coordination between Bahrain e-Government Authority and specialized South Korean organizations, stressing their joint drive to transfer expertise and programmes to Asian, Arab and African countries and assists them incompetence-building and drawing up plans.
Hyung-kyu Maeng praised Bahrain’s e-Government strides in a short time, hailing HRH Prince Salman’s keenness on developing the vital sector.
He also wished success for the new national strategy spearheaded by the Bahrain e-Government Authority, scheduled to be implemented in 2016.
HRH Prince Salman also met key officials from The Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) and heard a presentation on KOTI activities and projects, stressing Bahrain’s drive to upgrade its transport infrastructure.
He stressed Bahrain’s keen interest to enhance logistics and transport services as well as the establishment of a wide-ranging transport network inside Bahrain and the GCC states.
KOTI officials stressed their keenness on promoting cooperation and launching joint ventures with Bahrain.