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Bahrain partners with UAE, Jordan, Egypt in Sustainable Economic Development partnership | |
| Staff Writer |
Bahrain has joined the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt for a Sustainable Economic Development partnership. Bahrain’s inclusion is said to take the partnership’s total industrial manufacturing value to $112.5 billion from $106.26 billion. This is owing to the fact that Bahrain has a strong industrial sector with more than 9,500 companies and 55,000 employees and $4.3 billion in industrial foreign direct investments.
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The GCC country is the fourth member of the grouping, which has the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt the other member countries. The signing ceremony for inducting Bahrain was held in Cairo. This ushers in a new era in economic integration.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Nevin Gamea, Egyptian minister of trade and industry, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology of UAE, Yousef Al Shamali, Jordanian minister of industry, trade and supply, and Zayed Al Zayani, minister of industry, commerce and tourism of Bahrain.
It aims to establish large joint industrial projects, create job opportunities, contribute to an increasing economic output, diversify the economies of the partner countries, support industrial production and augment exports.
Bahrain is famous for its oil and gas, aluminum, iron ore, petrochemicals, plastics, food processing, textiles, and engineering.
Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology of UAE said that the country’s competitive advantages include advanced communication, technology and transportation infrastructure, and other enablers and incentives.
The Higher Committee also identified 12 projects worth $3.4 billion for phase one of feasibility studies and due diligence out of a total 87 industrial project proposals focused on fertilizers, agriculture and food sectors.
In the next phase, the Partnership will focus on the metals, chemicals, plastics, textiles and clothing sectors.
The Partnership is expected to increase the GDP of member countries by $809 billion by unlocking billions worth of opportunities across sectors, including $1.7 billion in the food and agricultural sector, $4 billion in the minerals sector, $1.7 billion in chemicals and plastics, and $0.5 billion in medical products.