[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2544-2545]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




WELCOMING HIS MAJESTY KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL-KHALIFA ON THE OCCASION OF 
                     HIS VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend a 
warm welcome to His Majesty Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa,

[[Page 2545]]

King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, on the occasion of his visit to the 
United States.
  The ties between our countries have spanned more than a century, 
beginning with the establishment of the first American hospital in the 
region at the turn of the 20th century. When Bahrain became the first 
Gulf Cooperation Council member to discover oil, it was with the aid of 
American technology and expertise.
  On January 1, 1949, an important alliance began between the United 
States and Bahrain with the establishment of the Navy's first command 
in the Middle East--Persian Gulf Area Command. On August 16, 1949, this 
command was renamed the Middle East Force. This was a vital outpost 
throughout the cold war and contributed to the success of democracy 
over communism. The Middle East Force ships were the first United 
States military units to take action following the August 1990 invasion 
of Kuwait when they began Maritime Interception Operations in support 
of United Nations Sanctions against Iraq.
  In January 1991, with the beginning of Operation Desert Storm, the 
Middle East Force was absorbed into United States Naval Forces Central 
Command, which is responsible for all United States Military activity 
in the Middle East and Eastern Africa. Today, United States Naval 
Forces Central Command and the United States Fifth Fleet consist of as 
many as 25 ships and 15,000 sailors and Marines.
  I commend Bahrain for its demonstrated commitment to both regional 
and international peace and stability. I recently visited Bahrain with 
a congressional delegation led by Congressman Darrell Issa, and I found 
that this cooperative spirit is still evident in the Kingdom's support 
for U.S. Armed Forces serving in Bahrain.
  Since King Hamad assumed the throne in 1999, he has steered Bahrain 
toward developing a diversified economy and transforming the country 
into a constitutional monarchy. The amended Constitution of Bahrain 
reinforces and guarantees the political equality of women and freedom 
of religion. Municipal elections were revived in May 2002, and a 
democratically elected parliament was formed in October of the same 
year. Significantly, women were for the first time active participants 
in these elections as both voters and candidates.
  On the economic front, Bahrain has demonstrated a strong commitment 
to free trade, privatization, and a free market economy. This is 
reflected in its membership in the World Trade Organization. Over the 
past four decades, Bahrain has actively pursued an economic policy 
based on diversification that has led this country to prosper. 
Bahrain's success has earned its recognition around the world, and the 
country has been accorded the rank of freest economy in the Arab world 
by the Heritage Foundation's 2003 Index of Economic Freedom report, and 
16th worldwide.
  The success of these economic policies enables Bahrain to boast a 
variety of industries ranging from petrochemicals, refining, aluminum, 
and ship repair, to investment banking and international trade. Today, 
Bahrain is the regional base for various inter- and multinational firms 
and is the financial hub of the Arab world.
  I commend King Hamad and the people of Bahrain for their considerable 
success, and for their strong support for our men and women in uniform. 
I look forward to continued strong relations between the United States 
and Bahrain.

                          ____________________