Bahrain woos India Inc for investments

Inviting the Indian companies to invest in the country, Bahrain today said it is making efforts to simplify the processes and reduce delays to make it an ideal business location.
The two countries signed eight memorandum of understanding (MoUs) here to enhance trade and economic cooperations during a one-day business forum organised by the Confederation of India Industry (CII) in association with the Bahrain Ministry of Commerce and Industry and its Economic Development Board.
"Bahrain is one of the most business-friendly countries in the Gulf. The government is striving to simplify the processes and reduce delays to make it an ideal location for businesses with the help of its strong infrastructure that includes robust transportation and communication links," Bahrain's Minister for Industry and Commerce Hassan A Fakhro said.

"Bahrain offers good investment opportunities in areas such as healthcare, finance, education, and some segment of manufacturing," Fakhro, who led a high-level delegation from his country during a visit to the city, said.
Bahrain is an important trading partner for India with non-oil bilateral trade in 2012-13 exceeding USD 1.3 billion. Over 3.50 lakh Indian nationals work in Bahrain.
"As economic power and growth is shifting to Asia, Indian companies are looking for new markets. In such a scenario, Bahrain is the ideal investment destination and going ahead, there is expected to be more mutual dependency between the two," Transport Minister Kamal Ahmed said.

On this occasion, Bahrain signed eight MoUs with various Indian companies, financial and educational institutions and industry bodies to boost trade and economic cooperation.

The MoUs include the one between the EDB and India's EXIM bank to promote business opportunities and grow trade between the two countries, in particular to promote exports from SMEs, investments, and reciprocal transfer of technology to the Indian industry.
The MOU between Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) and Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) aims at enabling cooperation between IIBF and BIBF to provide capacity building programmes for human resources development in the financial sector of Bahrain.

Similarly, the MOU between Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) and Indian Banks' Association seeks to promote cooperation and develop bilateral ties in mutual banking activities, including workshops, education and training programmes.
Gujarat-based conglomerate Adani group also signed an MoU with the Gulf Finance House of Bahrain.