From April 7 to 11, representatives of the World Youth Festival Directorate had an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The delegates held meetings with representatives of government bodies, international business organizations, and universities.
“2025 marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Bahrain. We keep on expanding our cooperation efforts, including youth policy. Following the World Youth Festival 2024 which welcomed a delegation from Bahrain, we extended our collaboration with partners within this country. As part of the International Friendship Clubs, Bahrain became a partner country of the Belgorod and Kaliningrad Regions. During the visit, we presented best Russian youth ecosystem practices, inviting young people to join the World Youth Festival Assembly, our educational programmes, and Summer Schools at Year-Round Youth Educational Centers. The meeting allowed to establish partnerships with 4 more organizations from the Kingdom of Bahrain”, notedDmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
The main agenda included issues in public administration, youth policy, education, tourism, economics, and creative industries.
The first day of the visit featured a meeting with members of the Upper House of Parliament and the Head of the Youth Affairs Committee Redha Ebrahim Munafredi. The talks focused on parliamentary affairs, as well as cooperation in sports, medicine, tourism, economics, and future youth initiatives.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain has had long-lasting relations with Russia. Since 2004, the King, along with multiple other delegations, have made numerous visits to Russia”, noted Redha Ebrahim Munafredi, Head of the Youth Affairs Committee.
The delegation also visited the Embassy and met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Alexey Skosyrev. He emphasized the importance of the WYFD’s activities as a Russian foreign policy tool and confirmed his willingness to provide assistance in building friendly ties with youth organizations of Bahrain.
Russia’s best practices in youth policy were presented at a meeting with Bahrain’s Minister of Youth, Rawan Bint Najeeb Tawfeeqi, and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Aymen bin Tawfeeq Almoayed.
WYFD’s representatives also met with Mohamed Sharif, WYF-2024 participant from Bahrain, partner of the International Friendship Club of the Kaliningrad Region.
“The World Youth Festival was my first event where I met young people from all over the world, and where my career in youth cooperation began. This was the place where I met many foreign delegates, people from different professional fields and regions. I believe this was one of the most vivid experiences of my life. Thanks to the Festival, I learned so much from my peers from other countries, and I hope they also gained much knowledge from their international friends. After the Festival, I keep on interacting with young people from the Kaliningrad Region through International Friendship Clubs. I'm deeply interested in maintaining connections with Russia and hope we can develop a strong partnership in the future”, shared Mohamed Sharif.
Finally, the Russian delegation visited Gulf University, which opened a Russian Language Center this year, and met with representatives of The Bahrain Businesswomen's Society (BBS) to discuss potential joint projects in youth business education, involving experts in business and creative industries from the Middle East.
Overview:
The World Youth Festival took place on March 1–7, 2024 in Sirius, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.
On the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, the WYF will be held in Russia on a regular basis – once in six years. Also, every six years 10,000 young people from all over the world will get together at the World Youth Festival Forum, and in between, international themed assemblies for 2,000 participants will be held under the auspices of the WYF. The first Assembly is scheduled to take place in September 2025 in Nizhny Novgorod. Festival events of various formats will be held in Russia annually.
According to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the Festival legacy, the World Youth Festival Directorate continues the work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
