Bahrain's business delegation to start India visit tomorrow, eyes to strengthen trade ties

NEW DELHI: With the aim to strengthen bilateral trade, a business delegation team from Kingdom of Bahrain will be visiting the country tomorrow. Reports suggest that the delegation will be led by Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Prince of Bahrain and the Chairman of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). They will hold discussions with India's top officials and also private sector players.

During the two-day visit, EDB will also meet the members of the private sector and business community in the financial capital tomorrow and in Delhi on Thursday. The team will discuss the recommended Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Gulf Cooperation Council and India.

The International Monetary Fund states that the overall trade between India and Bahrain was at $1.7 billion in 2011.

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.”