Bahrain, US sign $10b trade deals

Manama : Bahraini and U.S. companies have signed a series of trade agreements valued at  $10 billion. 

The trade agreements in the fields of economy, trade, industry, oil and aviation were signed on the sidelines of the official visit of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to the United States. HRH Crown Prince hailed the deal at a reception organised by Bahrain Economic Development Board, American Chamber of Commerce and Bahrain American Business Council at US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC.

HRH Crown Prince said under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Kingdom of Bahrain is constantly pursuing opportunities to advance bilateral trade ties to drive development and progress while meeting the aspirations of Bahrain’s citizens.  The Crown Prince noted that the 10-year free trade agreement with the US has served to strengthen Bahrain-US relations by increasing cooperation across a range of economic and commercial areas. 

As a result of Bahrain’s open business environment, over 200 US companies have chosen to operate in the Kingdom, particularly noting the recent announcement that Amazon Web Services is due to open its first regional headquarters in Bahrain.

His Royal Highness went on to note that Bahrain’s development efforts are focused on creating positive opportunities for businesses by reshaping the role of the public sector from the main engine of the economy to a private sector regulator and partner. The trade deals signed with U.S. companies are consistent with Bahrain’s ambitions to strengthen key strategic sectors, including financial services, logistics, industrials, entrepreneurship, information technology and tourism.

Trade deals signed

1 An agreement between the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and Technip FMC regarding the BAPCO Modernisation Programme, signed by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil and Mr Douglas Verdhart, CEO of Technip FMC

 2 An agreement between Alba and Bechtel regarding the Alba line 6 expansion project, which will result in Alba becoming the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter. The agreement was signed by Alba representative Tim Mori and Brendan P. Bechtel, Chairman and CEO of Bechtel Group Inc.

 3 An MoU between Alba and General Electric (GE) regarding the implementation of the fourth gas turbine unit at Power Plant 5, signed by Alba representative Tim Mori and Todd Lamar Smith, Chief Financial Officer of International and Vice President at GE

 4 An amendment to the textile trade protocol within the Bahrain-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, signed by Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and by the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East

5 An agreement between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to cooperate on small business growth initiatives, signed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Linda McMahon, Administrator of the SBA

During the event, the agreement between Gulf Air and GE was welcomed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Chairman of Gulf Air, and Mr Karan Krishna Bhatia, Vice President and Senior Counsel at GE.

 Also during the event, the first edition of the Bahrain-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Award was presented by Mr Khalid bin Rashid Al Zayani, Honorary President of the Bahrain American Business Council, and Koch Chuksi, Senior Vice President for Middle East and Turkey Affairs at the American Chamber of Commerce. The winners of the Free Trade Agreement Award were Alba and Mondelez.

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), delivered a speech in which he expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for supporting the Award, which underscores Bahrain’s keenness to strengthen bilateral partnerships in the economic and commercial sectors. Al Rumaihi stressed the EDB’s commitment to continue its outreach programme aimed at familiarising international companies with the Kingdom’s business and legislative environment, which encourages growth.