A century of history highlighted during Saudi Crown Prince's visit to Bahrain

Mohammed bin Salman's regional tour will be followed by an appearance at the G20 in Argentina

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is received by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud receives a gift from Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is received by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is received by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

A handout photo made available by the Saudi Royal Court shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (L) with the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R), upon his arrival in Manama, Bahrain. EPA

A handout photo made available by the Saudi Royal Court shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (C) with the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (2-L), upon his arrival in Manama, Bahrain. EPA

Historic ties between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were on display during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Manama on Monday.

The Crown Prince met Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa and other senior officials on the second stop of his regional tour of "brotherly" allies ahead of his scheduled G20 appearance in Argentina at the end of the week.

The long ties between the two nations were highlighted in a comparison of two photos taken at the Al Qudaibiya Palace in Bahrain nearly a century apart. A photo from Monday showed the two royals, while a similar photograph from 1920 showed King Abdul Aziz and Sheikh Hamad bin Isa, great grandfather of the predecessor. The main difference appeared to be the smaller retinue in the recent photograph.

"Glorious past and promising future," wrote Saudi academic Abdul Elah Al Sinanion on Twitter. "We build on top of their achievements."

The two royals also inaugurated a new oil pipeline during an event at Sheikh Isa Air Base on Monday.

A collaboration between Saudi Aramco and Bahrain Bapco, the 110-kilometre AB4 pipeline will pump up to 350,000 barrels per day from Abgaig in Saudi Arabia to the Bapco refinery in Bahrain, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Crown Prince's regional tour was initiated at the behest of his father King Salman, according to SPA, which said he would visit "brotherly" Arab countries. The trip is his first abroad since the murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in the Kingdom's Istanbul consulate on October 2.

While a number of high-ranking Saudi officials have since been implicated in his murder and the ensuing attempted cover-up, the Kingdom has strongly denied any involvement of the Crown Prince.

Regional allies, meanwhile, have thrown their support behind the Crown Prince. "The king reiterated Bahrain's complete rejection of attempts targeting Saudi Arabia," the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported. "Saudi Arabia is a nation of security, safety, justice and rights."

The Crown Prince began his regional tour in the UAE on Thursday, meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Later, he posed for pictures with racegoers at Yas Marina after the Grand Prix, appearing in a photograph with Mohammed Khashoggi, the nephew of the murdered journalist.

The Crown Prince flew to Cairo on Monday, where he was met on arrival by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. After an overnight stay in the Egyptian capital, he is expected to end his regional tour in Tunisia on Tuesday.

He is scheduled to attend the G20 economic forum in Buenos Aires over the weekend.

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