On Thursday, the Saudi and Bahraini Ministers of Interior launched the second phase of the initiative to implement the “one point” system in the two countries, which aims to facilitate transit procedures for travelers across the King Fahd Causeway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The measure facilitates traffic across the King Fahd Causeway, which was opened on November 26, 1986, and which more than 90,000 passengers cross daily. Last March, the bridge recorded 833,000 passengers crossing, but the number doubled in April 2026, reaching about 1.5 million passengers, an increase of 80 percent.
During 2025, more than 33 million passengers were recorded across the King Fahd Causeway, an increase of 1.6 percent compared to the previous year.
Security coordination
On Thursday, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Minister of Interior, and Lieutenant General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Bahraini Minister of Interior, chaired the fifth meeting of the Security Coordination Committee emanating from the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, which was held via video call.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud confirmed, in a speech during the meeting, that holding the meeting comes as an extension of the existing security cooperation between the two countries, and to strengthen it, in light of the distinguished relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud indicated that the fifth meeting of the committee comes to enhance cooperation and coordination in security areas of common interest, confront regional challenges, and follow up on the implementation of what was agreed upon at the fourth meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, which was held in Manama under the chairmanship of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
His Highness the Minister of Interior praised the efforts made by the work teams from both sides in implementing the agreed upon initiatives, including the initiative to enhance cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, and the initiative to limit the spread of extremist ideology among youth. During the meeting, a number of topics on the agenda were reviewed, and ways to enhance security cooperation and coordination between the two countries were discussed, in a way that contributes to achieving the goals of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council.
Participating in the meeting from the Saudi side were Assistant Minister of Interior Dr. Hisham bin Abdul Rahman Al-Falih, Director of the National Information Center Dr. Issam bin Abdullah Al-Waqit, Director of Public Security Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, Director General of the Office of the Minister of the Interior for Studies and Research Major General Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Arwan, Acting Director General of Passports Major General Dr. Saleh bin Saad Al-Murabba’, Assistant Chief of General Intelligence for Intelligence Affairs Major General Khalid bin Abdul Rahman Al-Otaibi, and Director General of the General Department of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Interior, head of the team. The work of the security committee for the Saudi side was carried out by Ahmed bin Suleiman Al-Issa, the Director General of the General Department of Agreements and International Cooperation headed by State Security, Major General Khaled bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, and the Director General of International Cooperation at the National Cybersecurity Authority, Engineer Badr bin Ibrahim bin Salamah.
From the Bahraini side, a number of senior officials and security leaders participated.
