A high-level Indian parliamentary delegation, headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, arrived in Bahrain on Thursday.
The 14-member delegation, which stopped at Bahrain International Airport for one hour on Sunday, is returning from Athens, Greece, where it went on an official parliamentary exchange programme.
The delegation was received by Bahraini Parliament Chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani and other senior officials.
"Though it is a transit visit, the delegation's short stay in Bahrain will help strengthen people-to-people contacts, as well as contacts between parliamentarians," Indian ambassador to the Gulf nation told PTI over phone.
The Bahraini parliament chairman will on Friday host a dinner for the visiting Indian delegation. While the Indian ambassador will host a reception for the speaker and the Indian delegation.
Later in the evening, the delegation will leave for home. The delegation includes Raashid Alvi, Kailas Joshi, Shailendra Kumar, K Kasturi Rangan, Mani Cheranamai and Tejaswini Seeramesh.
The delegation's visit is especially significant against the backdrop of the upcoming elections in Bahrain. India has offered to train Bahrain's parliamentary secretariat staff, along with staff from many Commonwealth countries later this year.
There are two high-level visits scheduled to cement the friendship between the two countries. One by the Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, later in the year and the first state visit to India by His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, early next year.
