This facility will give the United Kingdom an enhanced and permanent presence in the region, allowing longer-term deployments in the Gulf. It is created to assert influence over the Gulf and to fight extremist elements in the region.

The British Foreign Secretary, accompanied by navy personnel, attended the grand ceremony at Bahrain’s Mina Salman Port, marking the beginning of construction works at the new Royal Navy base.

Hammond tweeted on Saturday that “work starts today on new base at Mina Salman”, and said the new base “is a symbol of UK’s enduring commitment to Gulf security”.

‘The presence of the Royal Navy in Bahrain is guaranteed into the future, ensuring Britain’s sustained presence east of Suez. It marks the first permanent British military base in the region since 1971, when Britain formally withdrew from the Middle East and Bahrain gained its independence.

Hammond praised Bahrain’s tangible efforts for the benefit of the region and its people, affirming his country’s keenness to support its relations with Bahrain in all fields, based on its belief in the importance of ties between the two countries and countries in the region in general.

Britain moved its main regional naval base from Aden, the seaport in Yemen, to Bahrain on the Persian Gulf in 1967.

The Foreign Secretary has claimed Britain was too late in recognising the need to tackle the extremist views that fuel terrorism, describing it as “the great challenge of our time“.

“With hindsight, we’ve been too tolerant of intolerance”.

Speaking at a security summit, Mr Hammond said past multiculturalism policies created intolerance of difference, and there has previously been too much anxiety about causing offence instead of “standing up for what is right”.

Construction of the base will cost £15 million ($23 million, 19 million euros) and, according to Bahrain’s Al-Wasat newspaper it should be completed next year.

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