Saudi Crown Prince Underscores Strength of Ties with Bahrain

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini coordination council. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini coordination council. (SPA)
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Saudi Crown Prince Underscores Strength of Ties with Bahrain

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini coordination council. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini coordination council. (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, underlined on Thursday the depth and strength of relations between the Kingdom and Bahrain.

In remarks before the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini coordination council, he congratulated Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on his appointment as prime minister, wishing him success in achieving Bahrain’s economic vision 2030.

The council meeting was co-chaired by both royals.

Crown Prince Mohammed hoped that the establishment of the council will help effectively bolster relations between Riyadh and Manama.

He highlighted the keenness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on strengthening bilateral relation.

They believe that the council will serve as the platform from which these ties will be boosted in all fields, added Crown Prince Mohammed.

He said Thursday’s meeting will approve a number of organizational procedures ahead of the launch of the work of its relevant committees.

For his part, Crown Prince Salman stressed that relations between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are based on strong historic foundations and a shared destiny.

He also hailed the efforts exerted by Crown Prince Mohammed and his constant keenness on bolstering bilateral coordination and cooperation with Bahrain in order to achieve the prosperity of both their nations.



Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland, two days after the ceasefire Qatar helped broker came into effect in Gaza, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani cautioned that Gazans -- and not any other country -- should dictate the way the enclave will be governed.

"We hope to see the PA back in Gaza. We hope to see a government that will really address the issues of the people over there. And there is a long way to go with Gaza and the destruction," he said.

How Gaza will be governed after the war was not directly addressed in the deal between Israel and Hamas movement that led to an immediate ceasefire and hostage releases after nearly 15 months of talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Israel has rejected any governing role for Hamas, which ran Gaza before the war, but it has been almost equally opposed to rule by the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that has limited governing power in the West Bank.

The PA, dominated by the Fatah faction created by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, faces opposition from rival faction Hamas, which drove the PA out of Gaza in 2007 after a brief war.