Manama : The Minister of Finance and National Economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, today held a telephone call with the United States Secretary of the Treasury, H.E. Scott Bessent.
The two sides discussed the US announcement of the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, and reviewed the close and longstanding partnership between the Kingdom and the United States in confronting threats to regional security and international trade, including coordinated efforts to counter illicit finance and to disrupt the funding of destabilizing activity. The US Secretary of the Treasury expressed appreciation for the role Bahrain is expected to have in this regard.
The Minister of Finance and National Economy reaffirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position that peace and stability in the Middle East, and the security of the sea lanes on which global energy and trade depend, are of paramount importance. The Strait of Hormuz must not be used as an instrument of economic pressure or extortion. Attacks on commercial shipping raise costs for producers and consumers alike and place the stability of international markets at risk.
The Minister underlined the importance of denying resources to those who attack the region’s people and infrastructure, including through action against sanctions-evasion networks, illicit revenues and the financing of armed militias and terrorist groups, and of holding those responsible to account. The Minister also reaffirmed Bahrain’s support for international efforts to address the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and stressed the importance of denying those programs the revenues on which they depend.
The Minister reiterated Bahrain’s continued efforts to work with its GCC partners, the United States and the wider international community, in accordance with international law and with international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, to protect the integrity of the international financial system.
