Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has been awarded the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance during an official visit to Bahrain, in recognition of his efforts to strengthen relations between the country and the UAE.
King Hamad conferred the honour on Sheikh Khaled, the Abu Dhabi Media office said on Tuesday. They met at Al Sakhir Palace in Manama and discussed ways to bolster co-operation between the nations.
Sheikh Khaled also held talks with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also Bahrain's Prime Minister, at Gudaibiya Palace in Manama. The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral ties and expanding partnerships between the UAE and Bahrain across key sectors including the economy, investment and development, among others.
Later, Prince Salman hosted a banquet in honour of Sheikh Khaled and the Emirati delegation. It was attended by senior officials from the UAE and Bahrain. Sheikh Khaled was also given an official welcome at the palace, where the national anthems of both countries were played and a guard of honour welcomed the leaders.
Sheikh Khaled's delegation includes Sheikh Zayed bin Mohamed, Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoon, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, Mohammed Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport; Ahmed Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development; and Mansour Al Mansouri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Health.
Sheikh Khaled travelled a day after Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met King Hamad of Bahrain at Al Safriya Palace as part of an official visit. In the meeting, held after Sheikh Abdullah took part in the 12th session of the UAE-Bahrain Joint Higher Committee on Sunday, they looked to build on ties between their nations.
Sheikh Khaled's visit to Bahrain is his latest overseas engagement since being named Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in March last year. This month, he travelled to Brazil to attend the G20 summit and led the UAE delegation at the World Without Hunger Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. At the G20 summit, he announced the UAE's pledge to allocate $100 million to the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty initiative.
In October, Sheikh Khaled travelled to Singapore, where he held talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and was on hand as a host of agreements in artificial intelligence, education and renewable energy were signed to strengthen co-operation between the countries. In September, Sheikh Khaled completed an official visit to India and witnessed the signing of deals that extended the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement established in May 2022.
