Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bahrain) 3.87

Establishment of the Ministry of Foreign AffairsIn 1971, an Amiri Decree was issued to announce the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and define its duties and responsibilities and was followed in the same year by Amiri Decree No. (4) for the Year 1971 Regulating the Diplomatic and Consular Corps. Under the decree, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assumed the responsibility of coordinating and implementing all matters related to the state’s foreign policy and its international relations with other countries and international organizations as well as looking after and protecting the interests of Bahraini citizens abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assumes the coordination and implementation of all affairs relating to foreign policy according to its vision, mission and strategic and secondary goals. It has operated within the premises of the Government House (Dar Al Hukuma until 1983 when it moved to its current own building.The Ministers of Foreign AffairsShaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa was assigned the portfolio of Minister of Foreign Affairs since the ministry was first established and held that position until he was succeeded in 2005 by the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.The beginnings of the Diplomatic Work Soon after the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom of Bahrain began participating in the Arab summits and meetings of the Arab Foreign Ministers, the United Nations General Assembly Sessions (UNGA, the ministerial meetings of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and summits and ministerial meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC