Bahrain Crown Prince to visit India

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Business Line : Industry & Economy / Economy : Bahrain team to visit India

To boost bilateral trade, a business delegation team from Kingdom of Bahrain will visit India on Wednesday. According to a release, led by Mr Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Prince of Bahrain and chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the team will engage in high-level discussions with Indian officials and private sector leaders.

As part of the two-day visit, EDB will hold one-to-one meetings with members of the private sector and business community in Mumbai on Wednesday and in Delhi on Thursday. The team will also hold talks on the proposed Free Trade Agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council and India.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the total trade between India and Bahrain stood at $1.7 billion in 2011, the release said. Mr Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and acting chief executive of EDB, said: "Bahrain currently hosts more than 120 Indian firms, and Indian nationals are the largest expatriate community in Bahrain. As Indian firms continue to expand internationally, Bahrain's low cost of doing business, highly skilled local workforce and access to the GCC market mean that it can provide an excellent location from which these firms can access the fast-growing Gulf market, which is worth over a trillion dollars."

 

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Gulf Daily News » Business News » Key GCC-India trade pact to be probed

MANAMA: The proposed Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and India will be discussed during the two-day official state visit by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander.

The Bahrain delegation leaves today as part of the visit to India and will visit Mumbai and New Delhi.

Members will engage in high-level talks with Indian officials and private sector leaders.

The visit aims to strengthen political and trade relations between both countries.

"Bahrain currently hosts more than 120 Indian firms," said Transportation Minister and Economic Development Board (EDB) acting chief executive Kamal Ahmed.

"Also, Indian nationals are the largest expatriate community in the kingdom," Mr Ahmed added.

"As Indian firms continue to expand internationally, Bahrain's low cost of doing business, highly skilled local workforce and access to the GCC market mean that it can provide an excellent location from which these firms can access the fast-growing Gulf market.

"This market is worth more than $1 trillion," he said.

As part of a roadshow, the EDB has organised a series of one-to-one meetings with members of the private sector and business community.

The high-level talks will also include discussions on the proposed free trade agreement between the GCC and India.

The official delegation accompanying HRH the Crown Prince includes representatives of the EDB, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and Mumtalakat.

Dadabhai Group chairman Mohammed Dadabhai, LuLu Group managing director Yusuffali M A and Nader and Ebrahim Sons of Hassan Group partner and group managing director Ebrahim Al Ameer are also part of Bahrain's delegation.

"The Indian economy is the second fastest growing in the world," said BCCI chairman Dr Essam Fakhro.

"This makes India an attractive market for us to showcase our commitment to economic diversification.

"Our visit to India will enable us to interact with Indian businesses.

"It will also enable us to present a compelling proposition of holding Bahrain as a strategic business location from which to access the Gulf region.

"In the region, growth is to double to $2trn by 2020, as forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit," he added.

Bilateral trade between Bahrain and India last year was around $1.7 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund.

India's share of Bahrain's total foreign trade was 4.1 per cent between 2005-2010.

 

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Amid global slowdown, India, Bahrain to scale up investment - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: With the government opening the doors for qualified foreign investors (QFIs) from the Gulf, India on Thursday will pitch for accelerated trade and investment with Bahrain. With a trade-focused agenda, Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He will also meet President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. Bahrain's crown prince will be accompanied by senior ministers, officials and a large business delegation. This is the second visit of Al Khalifa to India.

The finance ministry Tuesday allowed QFIs from six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and 27 countries of the European Commission (EC) to invest in India to enhance foreign capital inflows. QFIs are not FIIs/sub accounts. A QFI is an individual, group or association resident in a foreign country and is compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards meant to combat money laundering and terrorist funding. The government in January had allowed QFIs from 34 FATF member countries to invest in India as foreign individual investors. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Qatar.

The decision is set to give a boost to India's economic ties with Middle East, home to over 6 million Indians who sends over $30 billion in remittances back home. Against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown and the eurozone recession, Bahrain, home to 350,000 Indians, is looking East and specially to India for more investment. Informed sources said Bahrain is keen to attract Indian investments in a host of areas, including construction, infrastructure and tourism. Bilateral trade has been steadily growing and touched $1.5 billion during 2010-11. Around 120 Indian firms have set up operations in Bahrain, which has positioned itself as a gateway to over $1 trillion Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market.