A NEW era of co-operation was ushered in yesterday between Bahrain and Tajikistan after a series of agreements were signed in the presence of His Majesty King Hamad and President Emomalli Rahmon.

Present at the ceremony at Sakhir Palace was His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Eight agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed. They included:

l An MoU on bilateral consultation between the two countries’ foreign ministries signed by Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and his Tajik counterpart Seraj-Alddin Aslof.

l The two ministers also signed an agreement on exchanging aviation services between the two countries.

l An MoU on enhancing co-operation in cultural and art fields was also signed between the Foreign Minister and Tajik Minister of Culture Shams-Alddin Arombikov.

l Another MoU on tourism was signed between the Foreign Minister and chairman of Tajik Youth, Sports and Tourism Committee and First Vice-President of the Tajik Olympic Committee Malik-Shah Namtov.

l Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and his Tajik counterpart Abdul-Salam Qerbanov signed an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.

l The Finance Minister also signed an agreement on encouraging and protecting investment with Tajik Investment Committee chairman Qader Qassim.

l He also signed an MoU with the Tajik Economic Development and Commerce Minister Sharif Rahimzadah on economic, commercial and technical co-operation.

l Health Minister Sadiq Al Shehabi signed an MoU on co-operation in the health fields with the Tajik Health Minister Nasrallah Salimzadah.
The signing of agreements and MoUs confirm Bahrain’s keenness to reinforce historical bilateral relations in all fields.