Industry minister takes part in Bahrain-India Forum 2016

New Delhi, May 26 (BNA): Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani participated as Key speaker in the second Bahrain India Forum, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in cooperation with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), on 25-26 May 2016. The event took place in New Delhi at the Leela Palace Hotel and focused on the themes of diversification in challenging times and the specific geo-economics of the Gulf and South Asia region. Among the key speaker from India was Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Ms Nirmala Sitharaman. The Minister reviewed the depth of historical trade relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India, which date back to more than 100 years. The Minister noted that the Indian investments in Bahrain have recently crossed the $1 billion marker, the total trade between the two countries in 2015 is USD 650 million, with the estimated value of export and re-export to India at USD 185 million. He pointed out that Bahrain imports from India amounted to USD 507 million. In addition there are 2373 Bahraini companies operating with Indian investors, 18 branches of Indian companies and 150 Indian commercial agencies in Bahrain. The minister also touched the Bahrain unique position in the heart of the Arabian Gulf as well as the Bahrain airport which is undergoing a major expansion, served by 32 airlines, which link Bahrain with 51 destinations directly through a comprehensive network of 825 flights a week. Due for completion in 2019, the expansion is envisaged to increase the airport’s capacity from its current four million passengers to 14 million passenger. Ten minutes from our airport lies the port. Operated by APM Terminals, the largest port operator in the world, cargo can reach Saudi Arabia within an hour from its clearance. Bahrain can also be a base to serve the greater Arab world. Through our participation in the Greater Arab World Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), Bahraini products exported to all Arab countries enjoy a duty free status. Furthermore, Bahrain was the first GCC nation to sign a Free Trade Agreement with USA and this year we celebrate 10 years of that success. Over the ten years our trade with USA has almost quadrupled where it stands at $4 billion today. Other Free Trade Agreements that Bahrain has engaged into are with Singapore and EFTA States, namely (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). In addition, Bahrain has signed 111 other trade agreements (covering issues like investment protection, double taxation avoidance, reciprocal exemption of international air transportation, economic and trade cooperation) with 40 other countries including India, China, United Kingdom and France to name a few. In terms of economics, Bahrain offers a true safe heaven with no personal income, capital gain, withholding or corporate taxes. In addition to the preferential tax status, Bahrain has no restriction on dividends or repatriation of dividends, profits and capital. The recent reform in commercial laws allows foreigners a 100% ownership status in most commercial activities as well as the flexibility to start and register companies or buy them as preregistered shelf companies. With the launch of our new commercial registration platform "Sijilat" less than a month ago, we are confident to report that a Commercial Registration issuance process takes less than two minutes where in fact, our current record stands at 93 seconds. The 2015 index of economic freedom ranks Bahrain as the most economically free nation in MENA region and as the 18th most free economy in the world. Furthermore, the 2015 HSBC explore survey ranks Bahrain as best overall experience in the GCC & overall quality of life as well as fourth overall in the world for expat satisfaction. The 2015 global competitiveness report issued by the world economic forum ranks Bahrain as the eighth country globally in ease of access to loans. These are but a few international indices that distinguish Bahrain on a regional and global stage. Dr Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist at the Bahrain Eonomic Development Board, also took part in the forum and spoke on the importance of achieving sustainable growth during times of worldwide economic slowdown. "The current global economic environment is undeniably proving a challenge to maintaining growth for many countries," he said. "However it is important to continue to invest in development even when resources may be scarce", he added. "As the first country in the Gulf to begin to diversify its activities away from the oil industry, Bahrain knows better than most the importance of a resilient economy and has worked hard to develop sectors such as financial services, manufacturing and logistics and ICT. There are boundless opportunities for cooperation with Indian businesses in these sectors, and with its strategic geographic location at the heart of the GCC, Bahrain is a perfect base for Indian companies to launch their regional operations and access the Gulf’s markets", said Kotilaine. The forum is part of the IISS geo-economics programme, and aims to enhance geo-economic relations and understanding and encourage new ideas for strengthening these links. Other guests included leading representatives from the private sector, as well as prominent policy makers from Bahrain and India. Sir John Jenkins, Executive Director of IISS Middle East, welcomed the event saying: "The Bahrain India Forum provides an opportunity for a really good discussion of the current global economic climate, current policy challenges, their significance for the future of regional economic relations and how we can generate new opportunities to stimulate growth and strengthen cross-regional stability through better policy frameworks and people-to-people networks." "The International Institute for Strategic Studies is proud to offer a platform of this sort for senior policy makers and important private sector actors and government institutions to make progress in these matters", he added. Mr Katadah Zaman, Managing Director of the IISS Middle East, hailed the event as being in line with the Institute's goal to strengthen its position in the region as a leading authority on global security, geo-political and geo-economic issues, a leader in new approaches to policy challenges and a builder of creative partnerships. Covering three sessions in total and highlighting key current geo-economic issues, the forum will also discuss how to identify business opportunities amid regional challenges, as well as the path to sustainable growth during times of global economic slowdown. A second forum with the U.K. is set to follow in London later in the year. (Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism)