Saudi King Salman visits Bahrain

Saudi King Salman visited Bahrain on Wednesday on a visit at the invitation of Bahraini King Hamad to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments. King Salman was welcomed by his counterpart at the King Fahad Causeway, a bridge connecting Saudi Arabia to Bahrain that was largely funded by Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Saudi Arabia, along with Kuwait and the UAE, pledged a $10 billion (Dh36.7bn) in financial support for Bahrain's reform package that aims to eliminate the kingdom's budget deficit by 2022. The short visit of a few hours comes a day after Manama formalised an agreement with Kuwait made last year for financial aid to support the Bahraini economy as part of an assistance package with other Gulf neighbours. Bahrain said it expected to receive up to $2 billion by the end of 2018 as part of the package that would be disbursed over five years. The ministry of finance has said it received payments in 2018 and that more details of the bailout package will be released this year. King Salman met Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as well as the country's crown prince and prime minister. Saudi state news agency SPA said the two kings discussed bilateral relations and "prospects for cooperation and coordination in various fields". Saudi Arabia has also been a staunch ally to Bahrain and helped maintain security in the country during the 2011 uprisings. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Bahrain in November, where the already strong relations between the two kingdoms was reinforced. The royals inaugurated a new oil pipeline that will ramp up production on a collaboration between Saudi Aramco and Bahrain Bapco.

Saudi King Salman visits Bahrain

The trip comes after King Salman's tour of the eastern region of Saudi Arabia