The Bahraini community in Saudi Arabia celebrated its 40th National Day, Friday and on Saturday it observes the 12th anniversary of the day when King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa ascended the throne of Bahrain. The National Day ceremony took place at the residence of the Consul General in Jeddah Hamad Ali Ahmad Al-Binkhalil. Saudi Gazette met with Consul General Al-Binkhalil to discuss his country's National Day and other related issues. SG: What do December 16th and 17th mean to every Bahraini here and in the Kingdom of Bahrain? CG Al-Binkhalil: Any national day in the world is a blissful and sacred day for people anywhere. For Bahrainis, December 16th is a most precious and unforgettable day as it marks the declaring of the Kingdom of Bahrain's independence from the British Crown in August 1971. Since that day, Bahrain has seen a rise of civil, urban, economic and social development. Since independence, Bahrain's government has worked hard to be a commercial and financial hub in the Arabian Gulf and has managed to attract more than 400 commercial banks and financial institutions. December 17 is another important day for Bahrainis as it is the day when King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa ascended the throne in 1999. Since that day Bahrain has undergone a very important historical turning point especially after the announcement of the constitutional reforms through the National Action Charter. In fact we have two great dates to celebrate, and I am very proud to host elite Saudi figures and entrepreneurs along with representatives from other foreign diplomatic missions in my residence here to share our happiness with our brothers here and to remind the current Bahraini generation of what their ancestors have done for their country. SG: How do you see Saudi-Bahraini relations? What is special about them? CG Al-Binkhalil: The relations between Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries have always been fraternal and strong. However, the relations between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are very special. Saudi Arabia is the nearest neighboring country to Bahrain and the only GCC state connected to it by the King Fahd Causeway. Since the construction of the Causeway and its official opening in 1986, the two countries relations have become better and better and are now at the very best stage in all areas including the economic, social and educational fields. The trade exchange between the two countries during 2009 and 2010 reached more than SR34 billion. This shows the rapid growth in the mutual commercial flows between them. Bahrain is open to all kinds of investments and it provides many facilities to investors. Any investor can obtain a license in not more than one day. We also provide many attractive investing features which encourage Saudi companies to invest in Bahrain. There are many Saudi business owners who invest in different aspects of the Bahraini economy, such as real estate, tourism, infrastructure and public services. As for tourism, Bahrain receives more than four million Saudi nationals every year which is the largest number of visitors from any GCC country. Furthermore, Bahrain is considered the favorite destination for Saudi families. This indicates the cordial treatment Saudi visitors encounter in Bahrain from both government institutions and the private sector. Speaking of education, there are a large number of Saudi male and female students studying in Bahrain in various educational institutions. More than 3,500 Saudi students attend different kinds of institutes, schools and colleges. Moreover, there are scores of cultural activities occurring annually such as exhibitions of the works of Saudi and Bahraini artists. SG: How do you describe the late political crisis recently experienced in Bahrain and how do you evaluate the role of the Bahraini government represented by King Hamad and the role of the GCC states including that of Saudi Arabia in containing the crisis? CG Al-Binkhalil: Well, let me first talk about the so called “Arab Spring” which was triggered earlier this year in forms of popular revolutions and uprisings calling for reforms and freedom. Let me put this forward, what has happened in Bahrain had nothing to do with any of these revolutions of the Arab Spring. To elucidate, the movement which took place around the GCC roundabout in the city of Manama just went beyond the dimensions of the original demands those protestors came out for. At first, the protestors called for popular demands understood by the government and these demands were on the way to being met by a number of reforms by the government without any expected escalation of security. Unfortunately, some opportunists among the protestors - who had very evil and mischievous intentions - rode the wave of protesting to trigger the fire of sedition. The government authorities at the beginning allowed the protestors to express themselves peacefully on February 14th. Nevertheless, all Bahrainis along with the top leadership were profoundly shocked when some of those protestors or let's say “sedition callers” started to twist the neck of protests and demanded the overthrowing of the regime. Bahraini citizens were shocked by the daily escalation of the protests towards security chaos. Therefore most Bahrainis have become more concerned about what is happening and there must be a real radical solution. When the GCC countries decided to send the Peninsula Shield force - in order to guard some sensitive installations and maintain security, not to confront and suppress the protestors - , the Bahraini people felt more secure and reassured. Despite the bitterness of this political crisis, I can see some positive points within it. It has really increased the cohesion among the members of the Bahraini community and they have become more aware and loyal to their leadership. The intervention of the Peninsula Shield in eradicating this crisis also demonstrated the interdependence and interrelatedness of the relations among the GCC states. SG: Did this crisis negatively affect the tourism industry and especially Saudi tourism in Bahrain? CG Al-Binkhalil: As with any political crisis, at the beginning, we faced some decrease in the number of tourists especially from our neighbors in Saudi Arabia. Regrettably, the media amplification and exaggeration of the events played a big role in the drop in tourism. The delay of the Formula 1 event this year is one of the most outstanding instances of such a drop as it caused heavy losses to both Bahraini citizens and the national economy. Now we can say that Bahrain has recovered and tourism has begun to pick up again as many visitors from Saudi Arabia and from other countries have recently visited the country and seen for themselves that everything there is ok now. __
