Referring to the Kingdom of Bahrain’s traditional welcoming of visitors, Dr. Fakhro recalled that Bahrain is often dubbed as the “island of golden smiles”, which he said describes the warm welcoming nature of the Bahraini people, and is also reflective of the attractiveness of the country as a place from which to conduct business.
Despite its’ relatively small size, Bahrain, because of its unique location at the natural center of the Gulf, and with a road causeway link to Saudi Arabia, a proposed new road and rail link to Qatar, and also a recently announced proposal to develop a second causeway link with Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is really at the epicenter of a huge and easily accessible market, and is also served by an efficient modern sea and airport.
Apart from this the communication and financial infrastructure in the country is excellent as would be expected from a country which is regarded as the financial center of the region.
Referring to the visit of His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, to Japan, Dr. Fakhro stated that His Majesty’s visit together with the Bahrain Japan Economic Forum and this Exhibition as supporting events, mark the beginning of a focused effort to showcase what Bahrain has to offer Japanese businesses, and how Bahrain can help in the recovery process by providing a strategic base from which to expand Japanese exports, or to exhibit Japanese products and services into the region, with a focus on small and medium sized enterprises.
Dr. Fakhro looked forward to welcoming more Japanese visitors and companies to Bahrain and join in creating a new Bahrain Japan business and friendship paradigm.