After the Islamic State (IS) released video footage on Dec. 22 of its barbaric burning to death of two Turkish soldiers in northern Syria, Bahraini officials immediately condemned the “terrorist brutal crime.” Manama’s quick response was the latest sign of a growing Bahraini-Turkish partnership aimed at fending off growing regional security threats. Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members seek to deepen ties with Ankara, as the archipelago kingdom, which is one of the Middle East’s brightest sectarian flashpoints, sees itself as increasingly vulnerable to the rise of ultra-violent Salafist jihadis as well as Iran’s ascendancy across the Arab world.

Since Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power 14 years ago, Ankara’s bonds with GCC members have warmed significantly with the Arab Gulf states welcoming Turkey’s shift from a “benign neglect” policy vis-a-vis the GCC toward an “active engagement” policy. This year, the GCC’s support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government after the attempted coup and the council’s subsequent decision to designate Fethullah Gulen’s movement (which Ankara officials accuse of masterminding the failed coup) a terrorist group underscore Bahrain's and other Arab Gulf states’ commitment to deepening their ties with Turkey.

In October, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his GCC counterparts in Saudi Arabia and released a joint Turkish-GCC communique, which denounced “indiscriminate airstrikes on Syria’s Aleppo” and expressed “deep regrets” in regard to the United Nations’ failure to bring peace to Aleppo. The communique emphasized “their complete rejection of the use of Iraqi territory as a safe haven for terrorist groups to carry out terror attacks, including smuggling of weapons and explosives.”

Although Bahrain trades less with Turkey than the other five GCC states, there are important security dimensions to the Manama-Ankara relationship in which Bahrain is following the lead of Saudi Arabia and Qatar by turning to Turkey for cooperation on regional crises. In August, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa became the first Arab leader to visit Turkey since the previous month’s failed coup. After receiving a warm welcome from Erdogan, the two leaders signed numerous agreements in the aviation, cultural, educational, legal and sports sectors. Hamad and Erdogan also discussed their countries’ “strong bilateral relations, regional and international issues and the latest developments,” reported the Bahrain News Agency. Speaking before the two delegations, Erdogan declared, “Turkey will never forget this stance, which will remain engraved in our memory,” and Hamad hailed the “importance of fraternal communication between” Bahrain and Turkey.