Bahrain and Britain announced yesterday their intention to sign a Memorandum of Understanding aimed to enhance cooperation in combating international terrorism.
The announcement was made in a joint communiqué, issued following yesterday's talks in London between His Majesty King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The King of Bahrain is currently on an official visit to the UK.
The communiqué said both countries condemned the latest terrorist bombing in London.
"The United Kingdom and Bahrain condemn unreservedly acts of terrorism wherever they occur. [They] recognise that only a comprehensive and global approach to combating the threat posed by international terrorism will be successful.
"Both sides are committed to working together to this end and hope to sign a Memorandum of Understanding shortly," said the communiqué.
"Both sides will also work hard to ensure that the voice of mainstream Islam is heard, world-wide," it added, saying that both sides rejected "the perversion of the peaceful religion of Islam which seeks to justify terrorism".
Blair also welcomed Bahrain's decision to host the second annual Gulf Security Conference, organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The conference, to be held from December 2 to 4, is an opportunity for participating governments "to consult and further develop sound policies for the future of regional security", Blair was quoted as saying in the communiqué.
The IISS announced earlier it had signed an agreement with Bahrain to host the conference, which involves senior security and military officials from the GCC, neighbouring countries, the United States and Europe to discuss subjects such as regional security, defence and counter-terrorism.
A statement issued by the centre yesterday said security advisors, defence, interior and foreign ministers, chiefs of defence staff and intelligence professionals from the six Gulf states and Yemen, Iran, Iraq, France, Russia, UK, US, Japan and Singapore will participate in the dialogue.
The aim of the conference is to "institutionalise the event as a key feature of defence and security diplomacy for the Gulf region", it said.
The meeting of national security establishments is modelled on the Shangri-La Dialogue that the IISS has been hosting in Singapore annually since 2002.
The first Gulf dialogue was held in Manama in December 2004. The IISS will be inviting this year delegation leaders from all the initial participating countries as well as from India, China and Germany, said the statement.
