Ambassador upbeat on ties

Iain Ferrier Lindsay, the British Ambassador to Bahrain, has one clear New Year’s resolution ... to tackle issues causing concern to UK residents living in the kingdom and find amicable solutions, writes Anasuya Kesavan.

And, he is also determined to play a pivotal role in continuing the ever-improving relationship between the two countries in a gentle and persuading Scottish diplomatic-style he has made his own.

“There is a lot happening from our perspective and we are keen that Bahrain knows that it has not only the political and moral support but also the practical support of the UK to move ahead on to a new pathway,” he told GulfWeekly.

Mr Lindsay, a linguist who speaks Japanese and Romanian, has served in his country’s foreign service for more than three decades.He graduated from the University of Glasgow, where his late father studied and in which his 20-year-old son, Calum, currently attends.

Bahrain is his first ambassadorial posting having worked in Warsaw, Doha, Tokyo, Canberra and Romania. In his last two postings in Bucharest and Hong Kong, he was the deputy head of mission.

Excited about his work in Bahrain, he said: “I am very fortunate. I have loved going to all the places we have gone to and I thought my work in Romania, when I was helping the Romanians join the European Union and NATO, was professionally the most rewarding.

“I am getting that same feeling here, given the particular role that Britain has to play, maybe with the Americans, in particular. There is a buzz about going to work every day and there is a real sense of things happening ... of being at the right place at the right time.”

Mr Lindsay believes that the relationship of Bahrain and the UK is on an ‘upward trajectory’, which he says is evident from the number of recent bilateral visits by top ranking dignitaries. His Majesty King Hamad recently concluded his visit to the UK and Bahrain has seen visits from British royals, such as the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Edward and Sophie Windsor.

Last month, Chatham House in London hosted a debate on ‘Bahrain after the Bassiouni Commission’ that had Al Wefaq National Islamic Society secretary general Sheikh Ali Salman and Dr Abdullatif Al Mahmood, president of the Gathering of National Unity, amongst those attending.

Mr Lindsay added: “The government and the Royal Family very clearly want the UK to help. We want to help and we want to see real change happening ... not cosmetic change.
 
“It is a golden opportunity for Bahrain and as a long-standing friend and ally of Bahrain it is important for us and Bahrain’s other friends to be here helping and encouraging.”

The ambassador has a background in helping British business to invest in Hong Kong and he hopes to replicate that here while encouraging more Bahraini investment to the UK.

Warning of the highly-competitive environment in the Gulf countries, he said: “Getting businesses here requires sustainable stability because British companies coming into the region for the first time can go to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha. And, Bahrain needs to realise that it is competing for these companies.

“I think there are some good fundamentals here but clearly Bahrain needs to reform economically as well. The British companies have tended to stay put here. They haven’t let off people and I would like to see some recognition that British companies and British people have stood by Bahrain in the last few months.”

Another important agenda he has on his plate is what he calls, the ‘consular and community priorities’, which includes the issue of travel bans on British expatriates who are unable to travel out of the kingdom because of pending legal issues. He said: “I want to deal with the issue of travel bans and the fact is that I want to see movement on that.
 
“It is quite clear that the travel ban system is not fair, it is not transparent and it does not have a sound legal basis and so we are working with the authorities at the moment to see if individual cases can be resolved. I am also working with other embassies to see if there can be some reform in the travel ban system.”

He also hopes to resolve issues faced by small British charity organisations that have been forced to close or join larger groups because of their inability to cope with the legislation or requirements which include translating and submitting documents in Arabic.