Brussels: Dr. Mohammed Ali Behzad, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Bahrain's Mission to the European Union, met with Luigi Di Maio, European Union Special Representative for the Gulf, as part of preparations for the third EU-GCC High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation to be held in Brussels on July 13. Ambassador Dr. Behzad highlighted the continued growth of Bahrain's ties with the European Union across the political, economic, trade, and development domains, as well as the steady progress in bilateral cooperation and coordination.
According to Bahrain News Agency, Di Maio welcomed the strong partnership between Bahrain and the European Union, as well as the broader EU-GCC relationship. He reaffirmed the European Union's commitment to further strengthening cooperation and coordination in pursuit of shared interests.
The two sides reviewed priority security and strategic issues, particularly regional security developments following the recent Iranian attacks against GCC member states. They discussed means to strengthen coordination to safeguard freedom of navigation and enhance maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
They also explored opportunities to deepen Bahrain-EU cooperation, advance GCC-EU relations during Bahrain's current GCC presidency, and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.