By Aykut Yilmaz
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus held talks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Kurtulmus expressed his pleasure at being in the "friendly and brotherly" country of Bahrain during his meeting with Al Khalifa at the Royal Palace, according to a statement from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).
He said that he had "productive" meetings with Bahrain's Council of Representatives and Shura Council leaders and members, expressing "confidence" that Türkiye-Bahrain relations would "significantly advance in political, economic, and cultural spheres."
For his part, Al Khalifa said that the efforts of the parliaments would advance the relationship between the two countries in all areas.
Earlier, Kurtulmus held talks with Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh, chairperson of Bahrain’s Shura Council.
The Turkish parliament speaker said that there had been no visit to Bahrain at the parliament level for quite some time and wished that this visit would mark a “new beginning.”
Kurtulmus also expressed Türkiye's intention to enhance relations both with Gulf countries and other nations in the region.
He also highlighted the challenges that the region, particularly Palestinian territories, are facing.
Al Saleh also stressed the need for advancing commercial relations between the two countries.
Touching upon Israel's ongoing attacks on Palestine, Al Saleh said that peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East until the Palestinian issue is resolved.
* Writing by Seda Sevencan and Necva Tastan