ISTANBUL, Oct 8 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Bahrain has recruited more than 1,800 security personnel and officers from Pakistan, the South Asian nation’s foreign minister said Thursday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Ishaq Dar shared the information during the third session of the Pakistan-Bahrain joint ministerial commission held in Islamabad and co-chaired by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
"We thank, once again, for... recruiting in Bahrain National Guard, 1,800 soldiers from Pakistan, including 30 retired army officers," Dar said in his initial remarks, addressing his Bahraini counterpart.
“I assure you that they will do a great job,” Dar told Al Zayani, according to a livestream of the meeting broadcast by the state-run Pakistan TV.
“They will be very disciplined... known (as) best army" and paramilitary force "in the world," said Dar, thanking his Bahraini counterpart.
He added that 13 officers and 37 soldiers from Pakistan had also joined the Bahrain Coast Guard under an agreement signed on June 24 between the Pakistan Coast Guard and Bahrain’s Interior Ministry.
Dar and Al Zayani also discussed the conflict in West Asia and emphasised de-escalation of the US-Iran war and the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group.
Pakistan and Bahrain will mark 55 years of diplomatic ties next year and have set a target of US$1 billion in bilateral trade.
The Gulf nation hosts around 134,000 Pakistani nationals.
Dar also said they discussed the conflict in Palestine, reiterating Pakistan's principled support for the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights.
"We expressed concern over the continued expansion of illegal settlement and attempts to alter the status of Al-Quds al-Sharif," said Dar, stressing the need for unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU