On behalf of HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister inaugurates Gateway Gulf 2025
Manama, Nov. 2 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, deputed Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, to inaugurate the third edition of the Gulf Gateway Forum 2025. The event, organised by the Economic Development Board, is being held on November 2-3, with the participation of more than 200 decision-makers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Asia, Europe, and North America.
The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that hosting the Gulf Gateway Forum for the third consecutive year reflects the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to establish the Kingdom of Bahrain as an open regional economic hub. He noted that the forum also embodies the directives of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, aimed at strengthening economic partnerships and developing sustainable investment opportunities across vital sectors.
Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah highlighted that this year’s forum, held under the theme "Rethinking Global Investment for New Trade Dynamics", reflects a deep awareness of current challenges and the need to enhance regional integration and create innovative pathways for sustainable development. He noted that GCC countries, with their human and economic resources and advanced infrastructure, have become key players in the new global economic landscape.
He further pointed to Bahrain’s steady implementation of its Economic Vision 2030, which is based on sustainability, competitiveness, and equity supported by a flexible legislative environment, qualified national talent, and advanced digital infrastructure. Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah underscored the Kingdom’s efforts to maximise the potential of non-oil sectors, which now contribute more than 86% of GDP, reflecting the success of its economic diversification policies, including the development of promising sectors and the enhancement of public-private partnerships.
The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the high-level participation in the forum, which includes prominent regional and international economic leaders and investors, looking forward to the forum’s discussions resulting in initiatives that strengthen economic partnerships between the region and the world. He also commended the role of the Economic Development Board and all partners in organising the forum.
Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, delivered the following opening address:
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, it is my honour to welcome you to Gateway Gulf our flagship investment forum that brings together global investors, regional leaders, and visionary thinkers to unlock the full potential of investment in Bahrain and across the Gulf.
Whether you have joined us from across the GCC, from Asia, Europe, or the Americas we are delighted to host you here in Bahrain. Your presence reflects a shared belief in the promise of our region, and in the power of partnership to drive lasting progress.
Since the first Gateway Gulf in 2018, and in line with the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to foster an open and competitive economy that creates opportunities for all, the Kingdom of Bahrain has attracted over 17 billion dollars in foreign direct investment. And over the next two days, across 61 announcements and 33 signing ceremonies, we will be announcing projects worth another 17 billion dollars.
Bahrain has always been a gateway.
For millennia, our archipelago of islands have connected cultures and commerce serving as a bridge between East and West, between innovation and opportunity. That legacy of openness continues today.
From finance and logistics to manufacturing, tourism, and the digital economy, Bahrain offers one of the region’s most agile and welcoming business environments. Yet our greatest strength lies not only in our location or our laws but most importantly in our people: talented, ambitious, and eager to shape the future.
Gateway Gulf is more than a conference.
It is a platform a platform to build relationships, explore opportunities, and share ideas that will redefine the future of investment in the GCC.
Across our region, we are witnessing an extraordinary transformation. Economies are diversifying, governments are innovating, and new industries from clean energy to fintech are reshaping the landscape. The Gulf is emerging not only as a hub of capital, but as a center of creativity, sustainability, and technological excellence.
Bahrain is proud to be at the heart of this transformation offering investors an ecosystem built on transparency, connectivity, and innovation a place where business can thrive and partnerships can flourish.
There are two defining aspects of the backdrop in which we meet today.
First the globally unique ambition and pace of change across our region.
Not ambition in words, but one proven in delivery.
Across the Gulf:
Projects are not just planned they are online and producing.
New sectors are not just emerging they are hiring, exporting, and scaling.
Capital is not just being deployed it is already compounding and delivering real returns.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the number of SMEs has more than doubled since 2016.
In the United Arab Emirates, capital and innovation come together to deliver advanced data centers that serve the region and the world.
The second aspect is global: we are in a world in transformation.
Much is said today about deglobulisation, decoupling, and fragmentation.
But more profoundly and perhaps even more transformational than the Industrial Revolution we have entered the Age of Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence is moving from the margins to the core:
Shaping how factories operate, how banks serve their customers, how ports and logistics networks move goods around the world.
Private and state capital are playing an increasingly vital role in empowering this transformation ensuring that the energy, infrastructure, regulation, and human capital are all in place.
In this new age, speed and consistency will be the key drivers of success.
The winners will be the companies and the jurisdictions that deliver on time, every time.
And here in Bahrain, our Team Bahrain ethos makes this practical one government, one partner, connecting capital to decisions with pace and precision.
Gateway Gulf is our catalyst.
Over the next two days, we will explore:
New trade dynamics and the opportunities they present;
Digital transformation in the Age of Intelligence;
And the industrial foundations that turn ambition into investment.
Your excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
As we open Gateway Gulf today, I encourage you to look beyond the numbers and projections and to see the people and stories behind them:
The entrepreneurs daring to innovate.
The young engineers designing the technologies of tomorrow.
The communities ready to grow alongside the investments we make.
Let Gateway Gulf be a place where bold ideas are born, where meaningful connections are made, and where a shared vision for the Gulf’s future takes shape.
Thank you for joining us and welcome to Bahrain.
The forum’s two-day programme will focus on seven key themes, including supporting future economic diversification, exploring emerging investment opportunities, adapting to evolving trade dynamics, the rise of new financial pathways, and enabling digital transformation. These discussions will be complemented by focused roundtable sessions, one-on-one meetings to identify opportunities, presentations of investable projects, and initiatives to facilitate strategic partnerships.
