Russia mulls grain hub in Bahrain

Yekaterinburg : Russia is considering the possibility of creating a grain hub in Bahrain, said Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov. 

“We are considering the options in the other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC], where it will be possible to construct, using local investment in the local currency among the others, to optimise the expenses and thus make the colleagues even more interested. We are yet more active with regard to Bahrain,” Manturov said in an interview to Sputnik news. 

Russia and Egypt had been mulling the possibility of creating a grain hub in the Egyptian port of Damietta and in August, 2016, the sides agreed on Russian participation in grain infrastructure construction in Egypt.

According to the new report by Sputniknews, Moscow is now considering that options in other countries of the Gulf. 

In February 2017, Russia expressed the intention to build a hub in Bahrain and on May 19, Russia’s state development bank Vnesheconombank’s (VEB)  Chairman Sergey Gorkov said the bank was considering the opportunity of building a logistic centre in Bahrain to support the Russian grain export.