He was addressing the opening session of the 16th Arab-German Economic Forum which kicked off on Thursday in Berlin and the two-day forum was highly attended by Bahraini, GCC and European delegations.
“We value our partnership with Germany as one of our most important trading partners, as an investor and as a destination for our exports. The partnership is cemented by the respect we have for the world-leading technical expertise that German businesses possess. The respect that we have for the German commitment, not only limited to large corporates, but to the small and family-owned businesses” Kamal said.
“When it comes to foreign investment in Bahrain, German firms have played an important role. These firms cover a wide range of industries and they include DHL, which has been based in Bahrain for more than forty years and runs its Middle East and Africa operations from the Kingdom, employing around 700 Bahrainis. And they also include BASF, which opened a state of the art chemicals production plant at the Bahrain International Investment Park in December last year. The German RMA, a family-run pipeline company that established in the Kingdom in 2011. These firms represent a wide range of different sizes and types of businesses and a wide range of different sectors. But they all share a common aim of accessing the growth in the GCC economy and find Bahrain an excellent location from which to do so.”
The Minister also mentioned the development and the achievements of the Bahraini economy especially in the process of economic diversification.
“We in Bahrain began this process many years ago and now financial services comprise around 17% of our GDP, and manufacturing around 15%. We are seeing a similar process of diversification across the Gulf and this process is helping to spur rapid economic growth throughout the region and in building a sustainable economy for the long term,” he added.
In 2011, the six countries of the GCC comprised an economy worth over $1.4 trillion. And according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, this is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2020.
Kamal bin Ahmed described The GCC as a dynamic, expanding market that is seeing long term growth underpinned by strong economic fundamentals.
The Forum will shed light on economic and trade issues, especially in the following sectors; infrastructure, logistics, information technology, manufacturing and financial services, small and medium enterprises, family businesses, and the role of businesswomen.
The size of trade between Bahrain and the Federal Republic of Germany amounted to $542m in 2011, with aluminum representing almost 73% of Bahrain’s exports to Germany. At the same time, car and transport vehicles were the main imports by Bahrain, which amounted to around 34% of imports, including machinery, chemical products and food.