The report highlights Bahrain’s ideal investment environment (ranked 27th out of 133 economies worldwide) and places particular emphasis on the government commitment to ICT, with a high ranking in government usage (4th). The Kingdom also offers good ICT readiness (25th) in terms of infrastructure, affordability and overall skills, and a sophisticated platform for entrepreneurship and innovation (11th).
“We in Bahrain are very pleased at this recognition of our achievements in ICT. In Bahrain, we appreciate the importance of ICT both as a business in its own right and its role in creating the optimum business environment for international companies who wish to locate to the Kingdom in order to access the trillion dollar Gulf market and wider Middle East,” Kamal Bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, said.
“Bahrain is proud to be recognised in a sector that is helping to achieve the ambitions of Vision 2030: to drive private sector growth, support further diversification of the economy and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for Bahrainis.”
Published for the eleventh consecutive year in cooperation with INSEAD, the report is the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on the development process and competitiveness of nations. Its Networked Readiness Index (NRI) assesses how prepared countries are to use ICT effectively on four dimensions:
1- General business, regulatory and political environment for ICT;
2- The readiness of three stakeholder groups – individuals, businesses and governments – to use and benefit from ICT;
3- The readiness of infrastructure and digital content, alongside its affordability and the skills required; and 4) the impact on economic and social conditions.
Bahrain is one of the Gulf’s technological pioneers. This year the Kingdom is hosting the third annual MENA ICT Week, one of the leading ICT events in the region, which highlights the growing potential for foreign investment in the sector.