Dr Mohan Kumar, Indian Ambassador in Bahrain told a Press conference that he was looking Bahrain as gateway to the other GCC countries.
Referring to bilalteral trade, Ambassador said the figure has been around $2 billion for past five years and there is a need to do more to increase this trade.
Ambassador Kumar, who addressed media on India-Bahrain 1st Conference and Expo which opens on 22nd October at the BIEC, said that the event was a culmination of HRH Prince Salman Crown Prince, First Deputy Premier and BDF Deputy Commander-in-Chief’s visit to India.
“I would say the highly successful visit of HRH Prince Salman opened a new chapter between the public and private sectors of both sides. Now it is the job of the private sectors and business to business contacts to avail the opportunity and take the relatively flat business over the past five years to new heights of excellence,” he said.
Urging the 123 Indian companies and businesses based in Bahrain, the Ambassador said that it was a high time for businesses on both sides to shun the perceptions of ‘too big’ (India for Bahrainis) and ‘too small’ (Bahrain for Indians) and take the advantage of Bahrain’s look East approach.
Ambassador said that Bahrain’s look East approach would reflect of bilateral trade figures which had been flat over the past five years.
A Bahrain-India Exhibition and Conference is being held at Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Centre in Manama from 22-24 October, 2013, under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Hassan A. Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Bahrain. The Exhibition and Conference will be jointly inaugurated by Dr. Hassan A. Fakhro and E Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs of India.
The Exhibition is open to public from 9:30 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. till 6:30 p.m.
A strong Indian business delegation, led by N Kumar, past president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, and comprising CEOs of top Indian companies from different fields, is participating in the event. Delegations from Kerala and Maharashtra state governments in the field of IT, small scale industries and solar energy are also participating in the Exhibition and Conference. About 75 exhibitors and 150 delegates from India are participating in the Exhibition and Conference which include Ministers, Government officials and industry leaders. The Ministerial delegation from India will be led by the Minister of State for External Affairs of India, E Ahamed.
“This is a major event and India hopes that it will provide fresh impetus to the Bahrain-India economic and commercial relations. The event will provide the business people and investors from India and Bahrain to interact face to face and identify new areas and opportunities in each other’s country where they can cooperate. Bahrain is developing and has opened up new sectors for expansion. Indian companies can benefit by investing in sectors in Bahrain like mining and minerals, tourism, construction, finance and banking, ICT etc. Similarly, Bahraini business houses can take advantage by investing in the fast developing Indian economy,” Ambassador said.
Bahrain-India Exhibition and Conference is envisaged as Bahrain’s premier India focused event for forging business alliances between India and Bahrain. The forum will bring together technology providers, investors, industry leaders, legal experts and government officials of both the countries to discuss bilateral business potentials and explore opportunities for collaboration.
The event is organized in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) as the strategic partners. Indian Embassy in Bahrain, the Export Promotion Council of India for Special Economic Zones & Export Oriented Units (Department of Commerce, Government of India), Industry and IT Ministry of the Government of Kerala State, Industry Ministry of the Government of Madhya Pradesh State, National Small Industries Development Corporation, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, as well as the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bahrain Embassy in India, Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority are actively promoting this event.
The Confederation of Indian Industry will conduct the economic partnership conference titled ‘Bahrain – India Economic Partnership: Springboard to Access Wider Markets’.
Sadeq Al Shehabi, Minister of Health of Bahrain is patronizing the seminar on health sector on 24th October, which is being organized with the support of the Indian Medical Association (Bahrain Chapter).
On 23rd October at 3:30 p.m. prominent Indian Corporate law expert Advocate Lalit Bhasin is engaging a group of corporate professionals for a closed door discussion. Dr. Lalit Bhasin is a Supreme Court lawyer and runs Bhasin & Co., one of the largest law Firms in India. His areas of specialisation include Corporate Law (Formation of Joint Venture Companies, Foreign Collaborations, Amalgamations, Mergers, Acquisitions, Disinvestment); Laws relating to Information Technology; Contract; Constitutional Law; Banking and Finance; Consumer Protection Laws; Disputes relating to Foreign Investment e.g. Shareholders Agreements, Collaboration Agreements, Agency and Distribution Agreements, Technology Transfer Agreements and Dispute Resolution Practice.