By KYIV. May 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has said that he held 90-minute talks with Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Kyiv, emphasizing that close cooperation with Bahrain was established with Bahrain for the first time in the history of Ukraine.
“For the first time over three decades of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Bahrain, the Foreign Minister of Bahrain came to visit us. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, and yesterday I met with him at the Foreign Ministry,” the Ukrainian minister said in Instagram on Friday.
” Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani is a very wise and experienced person. In particular, he has military experience as well as strategic vision of foreign policy. In addition, the Kingdom of Bahrain is an influential country of the Gulf whose opinion is of great importance for the other Arabic states of the region,” Kuleba said.
He emphasized that Ukraine appreciates having such a partner, adding that “instead of planned 20 minutes for a tete-a-tete meeting” he talked to the counterpart for almost one and a half hour.
“[We discussed] the path towards a real peace, the involvement of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the restoration of Ukraine, the history of our two states, the new page in relations between Ukraine and the Gulf countries. Yesterday in the evening, I also invited my Bahraini counterpart and friend for an informal walk around Kyiv. We went to the neighboring [Saint] Sophia [Cathedral] where he could touch the history of Ukraine, walked to the Memorial Wall to honor the deceased fighters,” Kuleba said.
The Foreign Minister of Bahrain also visited the towns of Irpin and Hostomel in Kyiv region, Kuleba said.
“For the first time in the history [of Ukraine], we have such a close cooperation with Bahrain. And the main thing is that our views appeared to be very similar. The Foreign Ministry will continue to implement the strategy of new horizons and open new opportunities for Ukraine in every region and corner of the world,” he said.
