WASHINGTON

The US and Bahrain are working to reschedule a visit by a top US diplomat who was expelled from the Gulf kingdom earlier this year, an American official said on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had agreed with his Bahraini counterpart in July that they would find “a mutually agreeable time” for Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski, to return to Manama.

“We’re continuing to work to reschedule the visit,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

In early July, Malinowski was told he was unwelcome in the country after meeting with members of the opposition and “should immediately leave the country, due to his interference in its internal affairs.” Psaki said however that the State Department’s understanding was Malinowski would now be allowed back into the country.

“That is the assumption, yes,” she said. “We have consistently said the government of Bahrain must do more to meet its own commitments to reform, and certainly, rescheduling the visit is only a component of that.”

The US was also “concerned” about the weekend arrest of Maryam Al Khawaja after she flew into Bahrain to visit her jailed father, leading activist Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Psaki said.