Bahrain to Develop Military Cooperation with UK

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general Jassim Al-Budaiwi during his participation at Manama Dialogue Conference. (Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council)
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general Jassim Al-Budaiwi during his participation at Manama Dialogue Conference. (Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council)
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Bahrain to Develop Military Cooperation with UK

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general Jassim Al-Budaiwi during his participation at Manama Dialogue Conference. (Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council)
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general Jassim Al-Budaiwi during his participation at Manama Dialogue Conference. (Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council)

Field Marshal Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), met Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin, Chief of the UK Defense Staff, and they signed a Declaration of Intent to develop military cooperation between both sides.
Bahrain News Agency reported that the meeting took place on Sunday on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue Conference.
The Declaration of Intent aims to develop military cooperation between both sides, through the signing of a cooperation agreement that would broaden joint relations.
The commander-in-chief also met lieutenant admiral Robert Bauer, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, who was on a visit to the country to take part in the Conference, and the accompanying delegation.
Lieutenant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al Noaimi, Defense Affairs Minister, was present.
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue Conference, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general Jassim Al-Budaiwi emphasized the GCC’s role as a trusted global partner in the energy sector.
“Energy security occupies a prominent place in the policies of the GCC countries,” he said.
He criticized misleading narratives that suggest alternative energy sources can completely replace fossil fuels and further highlighted the decades-long reliability of the GCC as an energy partner.
Al-Budaiwi also emphasized the region’s commitment to stabilizing global energy markets.
“The GCC countries recognize the importance of traditional energy supplies in the long term to ensure energy security and affordability, where the council’s members have also adopted renewable energy sources, as evident from their national development plans,” he added.



Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
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Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

“As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.

A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Palestinian fighters’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 percent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive.

Sheikh Tamim said Qatar would “strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”

Putin recognized Qatar’s “serious efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” and called deaths in the conflict “a tragedy.”

“A long-term settlement can only be achieved on the basis of the UN resolution and first of all connected to the establishment of two states,” he added.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.