Describing India and Bahrain as 'natural partners', Bahrain Minister of Commerce and Industry H.E. Hassan A Fakhro on Wednesday invited the Indian Industry to invest in his country.
A. Fakhro was speaking at the Bahrain India Business Forum organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in close cooperation with the Government of Bahrain. The forum is being organized on the occasion of the visit of Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to India and the 150-member business delegation accompanying him.
The Minister also highlighted the strong historical linkages between the two countries that go back many centuries. He asserted that people to people contact between our two civilizations has helped form the foundation for modern day relations between our two nations. Even today, there are several members of the royal family as well as several ministers in the Bahraini cabinet who have been educated in India. He recalled that during British rule, Bahrain was administered out of India. In fact, the currency in use was the Gulf Rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
He pointed out that Bahrain counted India as one of its most important partners and stated that bilateral economic relations with India has played an important role in shaping modern day Bahrain. He stated that there were around 2200 Indian companies who had set up operations in the country and hoped that this number would grow rapidly.
He also stated that Bahrain is undertaking reforms to improve the business climate in the country and he stated that with these reforms, Bahrain could become an ideal location for Indian business to service the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Addressing the CII, Minister of State for Commerce E M S Natchiappan stated that with the reforms being undertaken in India, there were several opportunities for Bahraini companies to invest in India. In this context, he referred to the various industrial corridors that were being set up i.e. the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, the Mumbai - Bangalore Industrial Corridor, the Bangalore - Chennai Industrial Corridor and the Amritsar - Kolkata Industrial Corridor.
He also highlighted the National Manufacturing Zones that are being set up by the Government of India and invited business from Bahrain to invest in these zones.
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Bahrain Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board Kamal Ahmed stated that Bahrain was in the process of diversifying its economy away from oil and this shift creates a massive opportunity for Indian companies to invest in his country.
Former President of CII and Chairman of CII International Policy Council Sunil Kant Munjal, highlighted the need to expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of science and technology, culture and people to people relations. He felt that if cooperation in these fields expands, this will automatically lead to an expansion in bilateral trade and investment.
According to Mr. Munjal, some of the other areas that the two countries could cooperate on were agriculture and SME development. He felt that the defence offset policy announced by the Government of India would open up a whole host of new opportunities for the two nations to work together.
The session witnessed the signing of eight MoUs between the business communities of both countries. These include MoU's between:
The Bahrain Economic Development Board and CII
Khaled-Al-Amin and Co. and Dr. B R Shetty and Co.
VKL Holding Company and Ansal Buildwell Ltd.
Bader Group of Companies and Prime Media Group
Bahrain Business Women's Society and Business Professional Women in India
Nader and Ebrahim s/o Hassan Co. WLL and Sanghar Exports.
National Cement Company and Liberty Group
Haji Hassan Group BSC and Ashtech India Pvt. Ltd.
In the panel discussions that followed, senior representatives from Bahrain highlighted the business and project opportunities in areas such as power, water, banking and finance, manufacturing, infrastructure development, and oil and gas. The participants also highlighted the various incentives offered by the Government of Bahrain for companies who invest in the country.