The Kingdom of Bahrain calls for the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East region, said Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, during an address to the UN General Assembly.

“The Kingdom reaffirms its support for international efforts aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, stressing the need for Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA to ensure the maintenance of regional and international security and stability,” he added.

The Foreign Minister added that Bahrain, in cooperation with allied and friendly countries, has made continuous efforts to pursue sources of terrorist financing and money laundering, and has seen remarkable achievements in this regard, placing it first in the Arab world in the Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index.

“In this context, we renew the commitment of the Kingdom of Bahrain to continue its efforts as part of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and all extremist terrorist organizations, and to dry up their sources of funding, stressing the importance of partnership and international cooperation in combating terrorism and confronting the ideology of extremism,” he added.

The minister added that the Middle East region continues to be in a state of instability and insecurity, with the people of a number of nations suffering difficult conditions due to the wars, crises and conflicts it is witnessing.

“These have resulted in the loss of lives, the displacement of millions of refugees and displaced persons, and the destruction of cities, villages and infrastructure, turning the lives of these people into a painful tragedy of daily suffering, driving away opportunities for peace, security and stability,” he added.

The minister added that Bahrain has always been keen to preserve the cohesion of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, due to the importance of its role in maintaining the security and stability of the region.

“Therefore, the Kingdom stresses the importance of the commitments included in the Al-Ula Summit Declaration, which was held in the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia earlier this year, that would promote interdependence and joint coordination and the achievement of greater cooperation and integration among member states,” he added.

The minister added that the Bahrain’s signing of the Declaration in Support of Peace with the State of Israel comes in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to promote the principles of peaceful coexistence and to consolidate a culture of peace, fraternity, dialog, cooperation and mutual respect with its noble goals endorsed by all monotheistic religions and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

“We call on the international community to work for a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue that meets the aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution, and resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative,” he added.

The minister added that his country also supports the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a ceasefire in Yemen, in order to reach a political solution to the Yemeni crisis in accordance with the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive National dialog Conference and relevant Security Council resolutions, namely Resolution No. 2216, to end the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people.

“My country condemns the Houthi group’s continued targeting of civilians and civilian facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by systematically and deliberately launching ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones, in clear violation of international humanitarian law,” the minister added.