SINGAPORE – Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman attended a security forum in Bahrain over the weekend, where he affirmed the strong and multifaceted relationship between Singapore and Bahrain on 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries, the Ministry of Defence said in a release on Sunday.

The 11th Manama Dialogue, which spanned Saturday and Sunday, was organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and is a key security forum for the Gulf region.

Dr Maliki called on the Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force, Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force, Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa. Dr Maliki expressed Singapore’s appreciation to Bahrain for the support it provided to the Republic of Singapore Navy’s deployment to the Gulf of Aden.

Dr Maliki also had bilateral meetings with Iraq’s Minister of Defence Khaled Al Obeidi, and Qatar’s Assistant of the Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullah Mitaib Al Rumaihi.

Singapore has been attending the Manama Dialogue since its inception in 2004. Countries represented at this year’s forum include Gulf Cooperation Council members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia), Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Yemen, as well as extra-regional countries such as Australia, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Dr Maliki left Bahrain on Sunday for Oman on an introductory visit.

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