The United States and Bahrain signed a Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement on September 13, 2023.
The US Secretary Antony Blinken in his remarks pointed out that this Agreement deepens the two countries’ cooperation in three very important ways:
- It expands security and defense collaboration between the two countries. For more than 25 years Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. This agreement will strengthen coordination between the armed forces and the integration of the intelligence capacities.
- It enhances economic relationship. Since 2006, the free trade agreement between the two countries has more than tripled trade and investment to about $3 billion a year. This agreement builds on this, in part by identifying new investment opportunities for the private sector partners in the United States.
- At a moment when technology holds so much potential to better our lives, this agreement advances scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries, including through increased information sharing and exchanges between our people.
This agreement is also the first binding U.S. international agreement of its kind to promote cooperation in developing and deploying trusted technologies, which are vital to protecting critical systems and peoples’ privacy – all of this from bad actors.
On behalf of His Majesty, Crown Prince Salman Al-Khalifa emphasized on the deep US-Bahrain relations that dated back to 1903 when a group of US missionaries came in the area to establish a small hospital, and also agreed with Antony Blinken that the new Agreement will enhance and deepen mutual relations in key sectors.
