BAHRAIN’S VISION 2030 NAVIGATING ECONOMIC GROWTH WITH INNOVATION AND COMPASSION

By MANAGING DIRECTOR of AMAD GROUP OF COMPANIES PAMBAVASAN NAIR

“In pursuing economic prosperity by 2030, Bahrain is a beacon of vision and strategic planning. The nation is witnessing rapid growth and development under the leadership of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Beyond economic goals, Bahrain shines in humanitarian efforts, providing a welcoming environment for expatriates, preserving cultural values, and demonstrating unparalleled compassion during challenging times.”

Many developing countries across the globe have envisaged a vision towards economic growth by the year 2030. By setting a prospective goal, the government can encourage their youth and citizens to have a definitive idea which will boost economic growth to the next level.

Bahrain is emerging as one of the leading countries pacing with its brilliant strategies and innovative planning. The rapid progression in the growth and development of Bahrain under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa is evident and highly appreciable.

“The vision of His Royal Highness to elevate the country to the next level by 2030, integrating highly advanced techno-commercial parameters, will undoubtedly bring about significant and remarkable changes in the coming years.”

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa plays a vital role in channelling the economic and institutional reforms in the kingdom. The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is entrusted with the overall responsibility of attracting investment into the Kingdom of Bahrain and supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate.

The EDB has prioritised the development of several economic sectors, including financial services, professional services, education, manufacturing, information and communications technology, logistics, and transportation. Labour reform is a crucial plank of Vision 2030. His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, conveyed his resolute belief to HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa that Bahrain harbours the epitome of financial prowess, an assertion grounded in undeniable truth.

The acknowledgement underscores Bahrain’s standing as a beacon of economic excellence, with its distinguished team receiving. Bahrain is renowned for its philanthropic endeavours and unwavering commitment to championing humanitarian causes. Expatriates in Bahrain lead contented lives, enjoying the freedom to uphold their traditional and inherited cultures, thereby imparting essential values to the succeeding generations.

Amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahrain swiftly implemented comprehensive measures under the direct guidance of His Royal Highness. The expeditious availability of vaccines, accomplished within 15 minutes, reflects the meticulous organisation and proactive response to combat the virus.

Bahrain exemplified unparalleled treatment for expatriates, extending equal care to COVID-19 patients on visit visas. The country set a remarkable example globally by providing excellent healthcare facilities and treatment to citizens, expatriates, and tourists, ensuring proper remedies were administered without discrimination.

The profound compassion and love for humanity witnessed in Bahrain during the challenging times of the pandemic are truly indescribable.” The Economic Vision 2030 provides practical directives for Bahrain to become a global contender, offering citizens better living standards, resulting in increased employment and high salary packages in a safe and secure living environment. The Industrial and business sectors will focus on the three guiding principles of Vision 2030: sustainability, competitiveness, and fairness.

Sustainability

Sustainable development requires a unified advent of economic growth considering environmental concerns. In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

It is understood that in the present times, there are almost 140 developing countries who, with times, are seeking economic growth and development. Change is good and change is inevitable, but with the increasing threat of global warming, there must be concrete efforts to ensure that product does not hurt our future generations.

Bahrain emerges as a fast-developing country and garners massive scope for many big foreign ventures coming in with promising schemes; many investors are speculated to join in this. There must be a collective drive towards economic growth in Bahrain by 2030. We must use our resources to invest in the future.

We must improve human capital through education and training, particularly in applied sciences. This will contemplate high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cloud computing technologies, automation, robotics for research, analytics, and running operations, giving a massive advantage against the competition.

Advanced technologies will make business operations sustainable and cost-effective; this, in turn, will boost the consumer’s confidence in products and services. With the onset of modern technology and new competitors worldwide minimising the overall production period, modern entrepreneurship and innovation will ensure the sustainability of the vibrant private sector. But it must be assured that economic growth must never come at the expense of the environment or the long-term well-being of Bahrainis and residents.

All efforts must be considered to protect Bahrain’s environment and preserve the Kingdom’s cultural heritage. Amad Group is very keen to invest in immaculate and resilient infrastructure. This is evident in our projects in Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia. Amad has always prioritised workers’ safety as well as protecting the environment.

Our company is introducing new changes in work patterns with all the advanced technical support and paperless systems. In the interest of the employee and the well-being of his family, other than GOSI, we have already taken insurance in the name of every single employee as compensation for their family in case of any unfortunate incidents in future.

Competitiveness

Effective competitiveness generates more productivity and better quality of products and services. This leads to companies becoming more competitive, innovative, and efficient based on merit. This market dynamic enables economic growth, creating jobs and well-being for society. When we take the manufacturing sector, it is becoming essential for it to digitalise and automate to compete and establish Bahrain in the global manufacturing map.

To actualise Vision 2030 for manufacturing, we need to transform operations, processes and energy footprint and manage manufacturing supply chains. This transformation will help us with autonomy on technology development, security, and digital infrastructure; with interoperability and open ecosystems, permitting plurality and flexibility in the regulatory framework, standards and integrations, decentralised system and artificial intelligence; and promote sustainable value creation, which ensures a high standard of living, including decent work culture, education, climate change mitigation, circular economy and social participation.

With increased productivity, a competitive environment naturally drives economic growth, profitability, and wages. Effective production is impacted by skilled people deployed in their rightful positions. The key is to make Bahrain a great place to do business for both local and foreign companies.

Many factors are combined to create a country attractive to investors in high-value-added industries: a high-quality public service, a cutting-edge infrastructure, and a better living environment. Amad Group is already at the forefront by expanding its branches into the manufacturing sector.

Bahrain Vision 2030 is a vision of every investor who invests and contributes to the growth of Bahrain. We have meticulously procured cutting-edge technologies to establish a state-of-the-art advanced factory, marking a pioneering venture. With a solid 25-year presence, Amad Group transitioned from its successful trading endeavours to venture into manufacturing in 2007, focusing exclusively on the production of switchgear and panels.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, we demonstrated our commitment to the country’s growth by investing BD 2 million and inaugurating our new switchgear factory in Al Mazraa Industrial Park. This highly automated facility boasts CNC machines and automatic powder coating, functioning as a computerised manufacturing unit that spans from fabrication to the final finishing stage of the product.

While contemplating the introduction of robotic assistance, we have prioritised job creation, preceding automation plans to provide more employment opportunities. Our trading house is operational in a well-equipped professional capacity with different divisions such as cable management, power and distribution, lighting, cable, earthing and lightning protection, etc.

Standing unique compared to other trading competitors, we have a technical directors, engineering managers and qualified engineers to support. And we are the exclusive agents of many major brands in Bahrain. Fairness Bahrain’s Vision is that the country’s future economic success will impact society more widely, creating a broader base of prosperity. We must confront the challenge of motivating our workforce.

By generating job opportunities, there will be stable income in all segments of society. This will improve the quality of life of the people. With the increase in productivity, there will be GDP growth, accelerating foreign investment, leading to augmentation in Bahrain’s infrastructure. Organisational justice consistently finds that employees are more motivated when they feel that corporate resources are allocated fairly, administrative decisions are justified, and their organisation treats them fairly.

The employees should be given appropriate information about decision-making. Provide clear explanations for findings, especially those that may be unpopular and uncomfortable to discuss. Allow them to voice their perspective and provide adequate responses to the points they raise. Moreover, employees who experience fairness at work are more likely to internalise the organisation’s goals and values and to develop close bonds with other organisational members.

In this way, a ‘management-by-fairness’ approach motivates employees to work collaboratively for the organisation’s and its members’ long-term good. Such a long-term collaborative focus tends to produce ethical behaviour. Amad Group is always committed to retaining very close relations with each of its employees who have been an integral part of the company. We don’t believe in following the typical employee-employer cliché standards. Being in a challenging position, I consider myself a responsible member of the extended family of my employees.

The hard-earned goodwill and credibility we achieved through our commitment to the customers has brought us this far. As a part of Vision 2030, our employees will further come into leadership to fulfil our aim of escalating this company to another level of hierarchy. With the brilliant visionary and effectual economic planning under the leadership of His Royal Highness, Bahrain will transcend with its 2030 vision.