Embassy Manama held its first post-COVID Independence Day celebration, relaunching Bahrain’s diplomatic events calendar and engaging a record number of top-tier government officials, May 16. Ambassador Steven C. Bondy (center, in navy suit) highlighted the longstanding ties between the United States and Bahrain—a major non-NATO ally and host of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Bondy emphasized the importance of rebuilding people-to-people connections as public health conditions allow, including through economic partnerships under the free trade agreement and extensive cultural and educational exchanges. The event attracted more than 400 people and received extensive coverage in Bahraini print and social media.
Photo by Mahmood Ahmed
