This was stated by an official of the Korean Embassy at the re-opening of the South Korean embassy in Manama at a ceremony attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Bahrain, MPs, members of the BCCI board, businessmen and members of the diplomatic corps in Bahrain.
The Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Korea established official diplomatic relations. On the 28th of June that year, Korean government opened its embassy in the State of Bahrain which is the former name for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Bahrain has been a major center for trade and transport in the Gulf since the ancient days and it has played a significant role as a bridgehead for Korean construction companies have been working in the Gulf since 1970’s and the 1980’s.
During that time, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company built Dry Dock and contributed Bahrain to maintain its reputation as a key ship-building and repair center. Other Korean companies have also contributed significantly in Bahrain’s country-building by participating in the construction of important government buildings, office buildings, main roads and other infrastructures in Bahrain.
After the establishment of diplomatic relations, there have been active high-level exchanges between the two countries. From Korea, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mayor of Seoul, President of Korean Football Association, Minister of Trade Industry and Energy, Former Prime Minister and a special envoy of the President have all visited Bahrain in the 80’s and 90’s. More recently, Minister of Construction and Transportation visited Bahrain as well.
From Bahrain, Shaikh Isa bin Rachid Al Khalifa, Minister of Youth and Sports, Shaikh Ali Khalifa Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior have visited Korea and in 2007, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Korea to participate in the 6th Asia Cooperation Dialogue.
May of this year, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander paid an official visit to Seoul upon the invitation from the Prime minister of Korea. The Crown prince had a meeting with the Prime Minister and paid a courtesy call on President to reconfirm the time-honored friendship between Bahrain and Korea. Crown Prince also attended a luncheon hosted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry with Bahraini and Korean businessmen and provided a great boost for practical bilateral business cooperation.
As an effort to lay the groundwork for further exchanges and cooperation, the government of Bahrain and the government of Korea have concluded several agreements such as agreement for trade promotion and economic and technical cooperation and cultural agreement. Between the foreign ministry of Korea and Bahrain, a memorandum of policy cooperation was signed and in 2007, the first policy consultation meeting was held in Seoul. During His Royal Highness the Crown prince’s visit to Korea, avoidance of double taxation agreement was also concluded between the two countries.
In the middle of active bilateral exchanges, unfortunately, the Korean government was forced to close the embassy in Bahrain due to the financial crisis that has hit the Southeast Asia and Korea hard in the late 90s.
Even under such circumstances, the two countries have developed the economic relations based on mutually beneficial and complementary trade structure. Korea has imported large amount of petrochemical and aluminum products from Bahrain while Korean cell phones, electronics and cars have become popular selling products in Bahrain.
In November of last year, Korean Samsung Engineering Company has completed Bapco’s Lube Base Oil Plant and has won National Winner for Bahrain in MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2012. In April of this year, heavy industry has also completed building power and desalination plants in Al Dur, which will help stabilize supplies of both electricity and usable water in Bahrain
Based on such steady practical cooperation between the two countries, in 2011 the Korean government decided to reopen our embassy in Bahrain and through a series of preparations, the embassy of the Republic of Korea opened in the Kingdom of Bahrain on December 30th, 2011.
In the course of reopening our embassy in Bahrain, there has been active coordination from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related ministries and friendly advice from the diplomatic corps. Also, generous support from the business leaders of Bahrain has been a great help in the initial settling stage of our embassy. Moreover, the Korean community here in Bahrain has made a significant contribution through their voluntary and devoted support for the reopening of our embassy in Bahrain.
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Bahrain promises you to try our best to enhance the friendly relation between Korea and Bahrain, to promote the friendship and exchange between Koreans and Bahrainis and to contribute to the prosperity of the Korean community here in Bahrain.