Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin: Your Highness, it is my great pleasure to welcome you and your delegation back to the Department of Defense. I’m glad to have you back, sir.
First, I would like to congratulate Secretary Blinken on signing the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement yesterday. It was a very important day and we were both looking forward to it.
This important bilateral agreement further deepens our already strong relationship and underscores the United States’ commitment not only to Bahrain but to the entire region. This provides a framework for cooperation in areas ranging from security and trade to technology and information sharing. And together we will demonstrate that integration and inclusion are the path to security, stability and prosperity.
The United States remains committed to Bahrain and the region. And we will continue to work with you to thwart all threats to regional stability, both from states and non-state actors.
I would also like to celebrate the third anniversary of the Abraham Accords this month, including the recent visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister to open the Israeli Embassy in Manama. Expanding this relationship will bring security and prosperity to the people of Bahrain and Israel.
And Your Excellency, your presence here underscores Bahrain’s commitment and leadership to a rules-based international order that keeps us all safe. And we thank your Foreign Secretary for visiting Ukraine earlier this year and seeing firsthand the devastation caused by Russian aggression. We stand firmly by the people of Ukraine and will continue to provide them with the security assistance they need to protect themselves and their homeland.
Bahrain also actively participates in coalition operations and is a leader in maritime security. In fact, Bahrain was the first country to join the international maritime security architecture. And, as always, thank you for your generous support of the service members and families of U.S. Navy Central Command and the 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
So, there’s a lot I want to talk about today. Your Highness, thank you for your visit. And I look forward to the discussion. And to you, sir.
Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa: Mr. Secretary, I am very pleased to be here again at the Pentagon, a building that I have had the honor of visiting many times. And when it comes to the level of cooperation, the level of planning, the level of effort required to secure the jobs, or the regions that we are working towards securing, my region of the world, it starts here. , so far from home where they will be executed, traveling thousands of miles.
So, first of all, I would like to thank the members of the United States Armed Forces, for whom we have a tremendous debt of gratitude and whom we are proud to serve with.
I also want to thank the President and all the others here in the United States, the State Department, the Department of Defense, and everyone involved, the night before or the day after we signed the C-SIPA agreement. At the National Security Agency. Because this is, I think, the first time, well, this is certainly something of this level that has been announced with countries in the Middle East outside of publicly available public defense agreements.
Therefore, I take great pride in the fact that this structure is a platform and base that not only the region but also many others can participate in. You know, I have a global vision by nature. Because only when nation-states, large and small, work together in their own areas of responsibility can we provide a more stable and productive world.
There are moments in history when the geopolitical sands shift, and we are living through such a moment today. And I think it’s important for friends, especially long-time friends, to get together and recommit to building on the strong foundation that already exists.
The Kingdom of Bahrain has been part of what I like to call the international rules-based order since 1816, when there was an armistice between the then United Kingdom (i.e., now Britain) and the Royal Navy. . And so we began a long process and a historic journey to get here.
So, Mr. Secretary, on behalf of my team and (inaudible) Sheikh Nasser, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance, and all of you here today, I would like to say that it is a great honor to return to the Department of Defense and do this important work. I think so. .
SEC. AUSTIN: Again, Your Highness, we are pleased to have you here, and a special welcome to Sheikh Nasser as well.