Sudan's al-Bashir in Bahrain for 2nd leg of Gulf tour

By Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar

MANAMA, Bahrain

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Bahrain on Wednesday for the second leg of an Arab Gulf tour that also took him to Kuwait.

Upon his arrival in Manama, al-Bashir met with Bahraini King Hamad Bin Issa al-Khalifa with whom he reportedly discussed bilateral relations and regional developments.

At the meeting, al-Khalifa expressed his satisfaction with the current state of Sudan-Bahrain ties, commending what he described as the “ongoing cooperation in various fields” between the two countries, Bahrain’s official news agency reported.

While in Kuwait on Tuesday and Wednesday, al-Bashir and members of an accompanying delegation met with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

"Discussions tackled means of enhancing cooperation between Kuwait and the sisterly Republic of Sudan with a view to serving our common interests," Kuwaiti Deputy Minister of Royal Court Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah al-Sabah said in a statement issued after the meeting.

Over the past two years, al-Bashir's government has emerged as a close ally of the Arab Gulf States following years of tension caused by Khartoum’s closeness to Iran.

Sudan is currently an active member of a Saudi-led Arab coalition drawn up in 2015 to fight Yemen’s Houthi Shia militia group.