The 7th session of the Ministerial Egyptian-Bahraini Commission's meetings were held on 4 May, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa. Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Badr El-Din Zayed headed the Egyptian side in the senior officials' meetings, held on 3 May, whereas the Bahraini side was headed by Ambassador Zuhair Goma' Mandeel, Director of the Arab Department at the Bahraini Foreign Ministry. The meetings were held in a warm atmosphere, what reflects the deepness and closeness of Egyptian-Bahraini relations. Various sides of the bilateral relations were discussed, including coordination and political consultation in the different Arab and international issues of common concern, economic and trade cooperation issues, and the technical cooperation with its diverse fields, in addition to fields of facilities and infra-structure, land, marine and air transportations and electricity. Furthermore, the consular issues also gained the committee's concern. The final communiqué reflected both sides' agreement on the various issues, where it underlined the importance of political consultation on all the regional issues and means to boost joint Arab action, while asserting solidarity with Palestinian people. Both sides stressed the importance of dialogue to achieve comprehensive appeasement. The Bahraini side expressed assistance to the Egyptian efforts in mediating between the diverse Palestinian factions on one hand and mediating between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides on the other. It, furthermore, re-affirmed the common basics towards the issues of Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, reforming the UN structure and promoting dialogue between civilizations and cultures. It also affirmed carrying on the endorsement of mutual nominations and fostering cooperation in training the new diplomats as well as cooperation in the economic, commercial, financial and investment fields. The meeting tackled suggestions to boost these relations, including the Bahraini side's welcoming the tenders offered by the Egyptian Company for Pipes and Cement Products (Siegwart), and asserting the role of business men, the importance of establishing a permanent exhibition for the Egyptian products and means to boost commercial exchange between the two brother countries. The Bahraini stance on a number of Egyptian suggestions to boost bilateral investments, is also worth noting. Moreover, the discussions tackled issues of financial and customs cooperation. As for tourism, there were many projects and fields of cooperation, especially with implementing the articles of the understanding memorandum signed between both countries and there prevailed a sense of general relief for the increasing numbers of Bahraini tourists to Egypt. Also tackled were many ideas and suggestions for cooperation in the fields of health, agriculture and environment, as well as fields of gas, electricity, all means of transport, housing, facilities, communications and information technology. The committee discussed cooperation in cultural, educational, judicial fields as well as consular affairs. Here both sides affirmed the importance of safeguarding the Egyptian and Bahraini citizens. In this context, some issues of residence for Egyptian citizens were discussed, in addition to increasing the Egyptian teachers salaries, where the Bahraini side expressed understanding for these issues and desire for resolving them. At the conclusion of the committee's activities, a meeting presided by both Foreign Ministers was held, where both expressed their happiness for the success of the committee activities, and the vast fields of cooperation between the two brother countries. Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, outlined the depth of the relations with Bahrain in all fields, for, on the economic level, Bahrain is the 14th country in terms of investments in Egypt, on the political, many summits are held between President Mubarak and King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, pinpointing the Bahraini King's expected visit to Cairo. Aboul Gheit also stressed the need to intensify meetings between both countries' officials, via the political consultation mechanism, to be held twice annually between Assistant Foreign Minister for the Arab Affairs in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and his Bahraini counterpart. At the conclusion of the committee's activities, final communiqué was signed in addition to nine understanding memoranda and executive programs and cooperation protocols, in fields of insurance and re-insurance, cooperation between the Egyptian National Council for Women and the Supreme Council for Women in Bahrain as well as in fields of youth and sports, health and pharmaceutical medicine, social solidarity, science and technology and technical cooperation in man power.