King Hamad holds discussion session with Chinese president

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa held today in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing an official discussion session with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was welcomed on arrival at the hall by the Chinese President. After holding the official reception protocols for HM the King, both leaders and their accompanying delegations headed to the hall where they held official talks. HM King Hamad thanked the Chinese President for the warm welcome and hospitality, lauding his keenness to strengthen relations with Bahrain and the GCC countries. He also expressed happiness about his first-ever visit to China at an invitation by the Chinese President. He lauded the key role played by China in fostering security and stability worldwide, combating international terrorism and promoting the "no interference" principle in other countries' internal affairs. He hailed the ongoing cooperation between both countries, taking pride in the establishment of diplomatic relations 25 years ago. He praised growing relations and both countries' keenness to further bolster bilateral cooperation in various fields. He expressed happiness about visiting China, praising the gigantic progress it made over the three past decades in the economic, development and urbanisation fields. He underscored the rich civilisational, urban and cultural heritage of Bahrain, the Gulf region and China that goes back thousands of years and represents a solid basis to cement ties binding them. HM the King praised the efforts of the Chinese President to ensure success of the first China-Arab States Expo, adding that with harmony and unity among its components, China has been able to make giant economic and development strides. He commended China's relentless efforts to serve just issues, support the rights of the Arab countries, ensure no interference in countries' domestic affairs and back measures to maintain security and stability. He reiterated thanks to the Chinese leadership and people for the warm hospitality and presented the Chinese President with an invitation to visit Bahrain. On his part, the Chinese President praised deep-rooted relations between China, Bahrain and the GCC countries, lauding joint keenness to bolster relations between Bahrain and China. He affirmed China's keenness on stability of the GCC countries and its opposition to any foreign interference in their domestic affairs. He also voiced his country's keenness to ensure the Gulf region remains free of weapons of mass destruction. He underlined the need to ensure success of the strategic dialogue between the GCC countries and China in order to further boost cooperation between both sides.