New Delhi, July 15 : Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Sunday lauded the role of the Indian expatriate community's role in his country's development.

"FM Shaikh Khalifa praised the contribution of Indian community settled in Bahrain towards the economic development of Bahrain," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following the second High Joint Commission meeting led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Shaikh Khalifa in Manama.

Bahrain is home to around 350,000 Indian nationals, the largest expatriate community in the Gulf Kingdom, and more than 3,000 Indian-owned or joint venture companies.

Bilateral trade between India and Bahrain stood at over $875 million as of February this year, according to figures provided by the External Affairs Ministry.

India's total capital investment into Bahrain between January 2003 and March 2018 has been estimated at $1.69 billion.

On Saturday, the first day of her two-day visit to Bahrain, Sushma Swaraj, along with Shaikh Khalifa, inaugurated the new Indian Embassy complex in Manama.

"The new developments that have taken place in the economic field in the two countries, will take economic relations to greater heights," Sushma Swaraj said in her address at the ceremony.

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.

In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.

"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."

Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".

"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.

He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.

The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."

Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.