DUSHANBE, December 16, 2013, Asia-Plus -- On Monday December 16, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon congratulated the King of Bahrain Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the occasion of Bahrain’s Independence day, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

In message, President Rahmon reportedly wished prosperity and development the people of Bahrain and stressed that one of goals of Tajikistan’s foreign policy was to raise Tajikistan’s bilateral cooperation with Bahrain to a new level.

Bahrain Independence Day was on August 15, 1971. The British removed their troops from the Suez in the early 1960s.  Bahrain formally declared its independence on August 15, 1971, marked by the signing of a friendship treaty with the British that terminated previous agreements between the two sides.  Although August 15 is the actual date on which Bahrain gained its independence from the British, the state does not celebrate or mark that date.  Instead, the state annually celebrates December 16 as “National Day” to coincide with the day that former ruler Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was coronated to the throne.  As such, December 16 is a national holiday and is usually celebrated with firework displays

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf.  Bahrain reportedly has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world.  Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East and is twelfth freest overall in the world based on the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal.  With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to a number of multinational firms and construction proceeds on several major industrial projects.  A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude oil, which accounted for 51% of the country''s imports in 2007.