Bahrain calls for ensuring security of maritime and air navigation and data flow

Manama, Oct 15 (KUNA) -- Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani called on Thursday for ensuring the security of maritime and air navigation and the flow of data, stating that these represent the essential arteries of global interconnectivity that must remain safe and open. This came during a speech delivered by Al Zayani at the seventh session of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in Azerbaijan under the presidency of President Ilham Aliyev, with the participation of numerous heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and representatives of regional and international organizations.

Al Zayani added that Bahrain, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and Jordan have been subjected in recent months to attacks targeting cities, infrastructure, and civilians, in violation of the principles of sovereignty, non-interference, good neighborliness, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. He affirmed that, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Bahrain calls for the full implementation of Council Resolution 2817 (2026), which was proposed by the Kingdom and supported by 136 countries.

He pointed out that the disruption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the risks facing ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea threaten global supply chains, energy security, and food security. He noted that approximately 1,600 commercial vessels have been effectively blockaded, depriving more than 23,000 seafarers of their freedom and separating them from their families.

Al Zayani strongly condemned the missile and drone attacks launched this week by the Houthi militia against airports in Riyadh, Abha, Jazan, and Najran in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in the deaths of civilians, including citizens of countries represented at the conference. He described these attacks as a serious violation of international law and the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Regarding the flow of data, Al Zayani stated that no single country can regulate artificial intelligence (AI) on its own, just as no country can guarantee the continued openness of a strait. He highlighted the call by Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, for the adoption of an international treaty to govern the development of AI, with the aim of protecting innovation rather than stifling it.

He welcomed the expansion of confidence-building measures coordinated by Azerbaijan regarding the development of safe and efficient transport corridors to include the safety of maritime and air navigation, thereby enhancing the conference’s role in protecting interconnectivity routes among nations. He emphasized that such interconnectivity requires a just and comprehensive peace in the region, including a just resolution to the Palestinian issue and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in security and peace.

Al Zayani reaffirmed Bahrain’s commitment, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to the rules and laws that ensure maritime, air, and digital connectivity, considering them fundamental to the shared prosperity of Asia. (End) K.N.A / A.M.S