Based on preliminary data from the past few months, bilateral trade between Bahrain and India has reached between $750 million and $800 million since the beginning of the year, with increasing interest on both sides to further strengthen trade ties. ing.
Disclosing this, the new Indian Ambassador Vinod Jacob said that the historical ties between the two countries remain strong and the two countries are looking to explore new opportunities in different sectors.
In his first interview since taking office in August, he discussed trade relations, tourism promotion plans, labor issues and community support programs.
“The emphasis on trade reflects the strength of the bilateral partnership between India and Bahrain, which has had strong commercial engagement between the two countries for centuries,” he told GDN yesterday. Told.
“If you look at last year’s transaction (numbers), it reached $1.6 billion, which I think is a bit of an abnormal number.
“This was primarily due to the response to pent-up demand during the COVID-19 lockdown period and the subsequent lifting of restrictions, which resulted in very high trading levels.
“We expect to see some kind of correction this year. Our data shows that $750 million to $800 million of bilateral trade took place in the past few months since the beginning of the year.”
Jacob explained that the value of bilateral trade between India and Bahrain in 2005 was $575 million.
He added that with both sides increasing bilateral engagement, trade volume is expected to reach an estimated $1.3 billion during the fiscal year.
Bahrain’s imports from India include rice, boneless meat, shrimp, sugar, fresh fruits and vegetables, machinery and engineering products, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, and polymers.
Meanwhile, exports to India include urea, methanol, mineral fuels, mineral oils and products, iron ore, aluminium, copper and bridge sections.
“India’s cumulative investment in Bahrain from April 2000 to June this year was $1.4 billion, but investment from Bahrain has been gradually increasing and as of today, foreign direct investment in India is 1.4 billion dollars. It’s worth $85 million,” Jacob said.
During the visit of a high-level Bahraini delegation to India in March under the auspices of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, two major India-based companies, Aeroram Middle East and Titan Company Limited (Titan), visited Bahrain. It was announced that the company will start its business. The total investment amount is approximately $45 million.
The envoy also noted that Investcorp, a leading Bahrain-based alternative investment management company, opened an office in Mumbai in 2019.
Jacob has been a diplomat for over 20 years, his last posting being as the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. He has also worked on India’s bilateral relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
Asked for an update on the implementation of RuPay card and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the envoy said discussions with relevant stakeholders are continuing.
During his state visit to Bahrain in 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the RuPay system for the first time after the agreement was signed.
Indian payments network RuPay allows Indians to use their cards abroad, and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced last week that the scheme would be operational in the UAE by the middle of next year.
GDN previously reported that RuPay will be widely accepted at ATMs and point of sale (PoS) terminals across Bahrain under a new collaboration between NPCI International Payments (NIPL) and Benefit.
“India is keen to facilitate the facilitation of digital payments and this is a priority for us to reach out to other countries in the international community,” Jacob said.
“Talks began between the two sides, but there was a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hope to pick up the pieces soon and make significant progress.”
On the possibility of a GCC-India free trade agreement, the diplomat added that a similar agreement has been signed with Sri Lanka, and trade agreements have also been signed with the UAE and Australia.
“There are efforts to conclude an FTA between the GCC and India, and discussions have been going on for several years.
“Now that we have overcome the challenges and restrictions of COVID-19, we hope that space and opportunity will open up for both sides to sit and talk.”
“We expect the process to be interesting.”
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