By Al-Fassel and AFP | 2023-09-14

WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States on Wednesday (September 13) signed an agreement with Bahrain to enhance economic and defense ties, including a commitment to share intelligence.

Bahrain already has strong ties with the United States and has hosted the US Navy's 5th Fleet for 25 years, but the new agreement will solidify the relationship both symbolically and by boosting cooperation.

Dubbed the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, the deal was signed in Washington by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Bahrain's crown prince, Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

"This agreement will enhance cooperation across a wide range of areas, from defense and security to emerging technology, trade and investment," the US State Department said, in a statement announcing the agreement.

"It marks the latest development in the United States' close partnership with Bahrain and enduring commitment to the region in support of peace."

The agreement will focus "not only on security and defense, which is essential, but also on the economy, on people and on technology, which will be the foundation for a new global architecture," Prince Khalifa said.

The agreement will promote scientific exchanges, investment opportunities and work on renewable energy, and details Bahrain's involvement in a new India to Europe rail and sea trade corridor via the Middle East.

Plans for the trade route were announced during US President Joe Biden's visit last week to the G-20 summit in New Delhi.

Working together

Building on the decades-long US security partnership with Bahrain, the deal supports the goals of the Abraham Accords, signed September 15, 2020, and other recent regional integration efforts, the State Department said.

Through the Abraham Accords, Bahrain became one of the first countries to normalize relations with Israel, and has continued its leadership in this area through the Negev Forum.

"As both a major non-NATO ally and a major security partner, Bahrain is already one of the United States' longest-standing and closest partners in the Middle East," Blinken said.

The two nations "stand shoulder to shoulder in our mission to secure critical shipping lanes that sustain the entire global economy," he said.

"This agreement will strengthen coordination between our armed forces and the integration of our intelligence capacities, allowing us to even better deter and respond to threats as they arise," he added.

"The heart of the agreement is a shared goal -- working together to build a region that is more secure, more prosperous and that's more connected to the world," he said.

In what Blinken billed as a first-of-a-kind measure, the deal will commit the two countries to work together on "trusted technologies" -- an allusion to avoiding providers, often from China, seen by the United States as potentially unsafe.

Strengthening regional stability

"We're looking forward to using this agreement as a framework for additional countries that may wish to join us in strengthening regional stability, economic cooperation and technological innovation," Blinken said.

If successful, a senior official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity, the agreement "can serve as a kind of cornerstone for a broader grouping of countries over time that share our common vision."

Bahrain has tense relations with the Islamic Republic, which has long claimed it as one of its historic provinces.

While the agreement is not explicitly directed at Iran, the senior official noted that Gulf states have sought greater assurances that the United States will defend them from Iranian threats, media outlets reported.

"This is defensive in nature; it's about deterrence," the official said. "The ultimate objective of agreements like this is to ensure that you never get to that worst-case scenario."