(Yicai) November 13 — Talks between China and the GCC on the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement were very successful, and the two countries agreed to complete the negotiations as soon as possible. , was announced by the Indian Minister of Industry and Commerce. Bahrain is also optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon.
“We discussed various initiatives related to intellectual property, ICT fields, logistics and manufacturing, where we discussed not only cooperation between the Chinese and Bahraini governments, but also cooperation between Bahraini and Bahraini in all aspects, including investment. There will also be cooperation between companies,” Abdullah said. Adel Fakro told Mr. Ekai in his recent exclusive interview. “We feel there is more work to do and more opportunities to cooperate on bilateral trade.”
In his first visit to China since taking office in November last year, Fakhro arrived in Guangzhou to attend the China-Gulf Cooperation Council 6+1 Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting. He expects Chinese advanced manufacturing companies to invest in Bahrain.
During his visit, he said he met many Chinese companies wishing to do business in Bahrain and hoped to attract investment in telecommunications, advanced manufacturing and advanced logistics.
“ICT is a very important area and China is a leader in technology and telecommunications and we want to benefit from that and we want China to benefit from that as well,” Fakhro said. Told. “China is once again a world leader in manufacturing and we feel there is an opportunity to establish Bahrain to serve the Middle East and North Africa.”
Fakhroh said Bahrain has a strong infrastructure to support the expansion of Chinese logistics companies. “We fit very well into China’s strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.
There are many advantages to investing in Bahrain, the most important being low costs ranging from rent to cost of living, which are 30 to 50 percent lower than major cities in the Gulf region, Fakhroh pointed out. He added that the country has significant location advantages in the region, being just 30 minutes’ drive from Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy, and also has free trade agreements with more than 22 countries around the world.
Bahrain’s national airline, Gulf Air, will launch direct flights from Bahrain to Shanghai and Guangzhou from January next year, realizing direct flights between the Middle Eastern country and China and promoting personnel exchanges, Fakhroh said. I made it.
China was Bahrain’s largest source of imports from 2012 to 2020, and also last year, rising to second place in 2021, according to data on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $2 billion in 2022, an increase of 13.9% from the previous year.
Editor: Martin Kadyev