Overview
- Zardari departs with a high-level delegation for meetings with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince–Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa from January 13 to 16.
- Officials say the agenda includes deeper cooperation in trade, economic engagement, defence and security, and people-to-people exchanges.
- Both countries point to recent visa relaxations and progress on a Pakistan–GCC free trade pact as catalysts for expanding bilateral commerce beyond the current level of over $550 million.
- Planned defence discussions cover training, cybersecurity, defence production, information sharing, and port-to-port links between Karachi and Gwadar and Bahrain’s Khalifa bin Salman Port.
- Pakistan Observer reports that Zardari paid homage at the holy shrines of Najaf and Kufa.