MANAMA, 22 February 2004 — A Bahraini-Qatari joint commission is to hold talks here today on plans to build a bridge linking the two Gulf Arab states, at an estimated cost of up to $2 billion, a Bahraini official told reporters.
“If the plan materializes, it will have huge repercussions for the two countries,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
The meeting, the commission’s first for nearly two years, will be chaired by Bahraini Crown Prince Sheikh Salman ibn Hamad Al-Khalifa and Qatari counterpart Sheikh Jassim ibn Hamad Al-Thani, according to an official source.
Other plans for cooperation, especially on economic issues, will also be discussed by the two sides, the source said.
The commission was formed after a decades-old territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar was resolved by the world court in March 2001.
