Discover America Week 2024

BY H.E. US Ambassador Steven C. Bondy

Discover America Week shines a spotlight each year on the commercial ties between Bahrain and the United States. This year, we focus on the role American transportation innovation plays in promoting our economic growth and its impact on advancing supply chain resilience, mitigating climate change, and promoting national security.

Notably, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA), under which bilateral trade has nearly quadrupled.

The FTA facilitates the import of high-quality American vehicles, boats, aircraft, and related equipment while also enabling partnerships between American and Bahraini companies to promote economic development and improved trade and logistics systems.

The US Embassy is showcasing examples of American transportation in Bahrain, from cutting-edge sports cars and heavy-duty trucks to cargo ships and wide-body aircraft, as well as intelligent traffic management systems, and the final frontier, space exploration. Transportation makes us more mobile, interconnected, and productive in Bahrain, the United States, and around the world.

Commitment to Bilateral Economic Partnership

Twenty years ago, Bahrain and the United States strengthened an already robust relationship by signing the Free Trade Agreement, the first such US agreement in the Gulf region. Since it came into force in 2006, two-way trade in goods has expanded almost four times, from $782 million in 2005 to the high-water mark of over $3 billion in 2018.

Bilateral trade volume of goods in both 2022 and 2023 was $2.85 billion, while trade in services adds another $1 billion to our total commercial exchange each year. Specifically in the transportation sector, over the last ten years, aircraft, automobiles, and related parts have made up about one-third of all US exports to Bahrain.

The US-Bahrain Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), signed in 2023, reaffirmed our long-standing strategic partnership. Not focusing on defense and security alone, the agreement addresses trade and economic affairs, and science, technology, and cybersecurity.

These elements highlight our shared view that national security is inextricably linked with economic growth. The agreement shines a light on ways our partnership can promote bilateral trade, strengthen global supply chains, and utilize trusted technology.

Economic Growth Depends on Effective Transportation

I had the pleasure of visiting automotive showrooms in Bahrain that feature the best of American vehicles, from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. These companies are constantly innovating to design and build the cars and trucks that connect us and safely move people and products across Bahrain every day to work, school, and recreation.

Bahrain’s national airline, Gulf Air, bases its long-haul capacity on a foundation of superior Boeing 787 aircraft, expanding Bahrain’s reach around the world.

American ships, shipping lines, and cruise vessels bring trade and tourism through Bahrain’s seaport, helping to position Bahrain as a regional multimodal sea-air logistics hub, and buttressing growth in the tourism sector.

As Bahrain advances its transportation systems and infrastructure, American engineers, suppliers, and contractors are ready to support key projects.

American companies already contribute to major road, airport, and infrastructure projects and we look forward to exploring technologies like intelligent transportation systems and smart cities to make traffic move faster and more efficiently.

American companies are proud to participate in the 2024 Bahrain International Air Show to help showcase their cutting-edge products and services and to shine a spotlight on the Kingdom’s leadership in the aviation sector.

Island Country, Global Solutions

Innovation in transportation is central to addressing priorities like food and energy security, and greater economic integration.

As Bahrain refines mechanisms for cross-border logistics, Bahraini and American companies can help expedite the movement of goods and services into more markets.

Our close collaboration on customs systems and the technology that powers them, and our progress toward direct flights to and from the United States, promise even greater movement of people and goods between our two countries, facilitating business opportunities, expanded trade, and more personal interactions between our citizens.

We look forward to the next twenty years under the Free Trade Agreement and C-SIPA, and we will continue to partner with Bahrain in leveraging transportation as a key driver of economic growth.