Davos 2025 underscored the need for bold leadership in an era of disruption. Bahrain is meeting the challenge with pioneering investments in AI, green energy, and workforce development to create a sustainable future.
The main theme at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting, Davos 2025, ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age’, underscored the imperative of global cooperation to navigate today’s complex challenges.
It was an insightful experience to be part of the Bahrain delegation that attended the event. Through our efforts at the Bahrain Economic Development Board, we are actively contributing to these global dialogues through targeted initiatives that align and overlap with some of the key themes explored during this year’s Annual Meeting.
Rebuilding trust in a fragmented geopolitical landscape
The world continues to reverberate with environmental crises, geopolitical upheaval and the economic challenges these bring. At a time when global cooperation has ‘flatlined’, reaching across borders to build cooperation, even within these contexts, must be a priority.
New free trade measures are one way to do that. As a country in the Middle East, strategic relationships with both the East and West are key for Bahrain’s economic development. The agreement between Bahrain and China to explore new investment opportunities is an example of that.
In 2024, Bahrain ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in trade, investment, and financial freedom for the third consecutive year, according to the 2024 Index of Economic Freedom. It’s not only a recognition of the annual 8% growth in the island nation’s economy, but its position as a financially liberal and open regional hub of trade.
Safeguarding a sustainable future
Davos was held amidst coverage of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. 2024 saw catastrophic floods around the world, all happening during the hottest year on record – the first to record more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial average. As severe weather events caused by human activity become more common, we must act to safeguard the planet and create a more sustainable future for all people.
Bahrain is dedicated to environmental stewardship and reducing carbon emissions. The Kingdom is investing in renewable energy projects, like the 72-megawatt multi-site solar project in Sakhir, to ensure a secure energy future
Investment in innovation will help sustainably feed a growing population. To that end, hydroponic techniques will be used to produce fresh fruit and vegetables on 5,000 square metres of land in Bahrain thanks to a strategic partnership between Edamah and Badia Farms.
We are also working to cut transportation emissions whilst addressing critical market and infrastructure challenges. Bahrain-based Marson Group has partnered with US electric-vehicle (EV) specialist Gauss Auto to develop Bahrain’s first electric-car factory and Shaheen Group is installing Teltonika EV chargers across the country.
Reimagining sustainable economic growth
As we create more sustainable, greener industries, we recognise that sustainable development and economic growth work hand in hand. There is meaningful progress being made in economic sustainability and diversification in the Middle East, and indeed countries like Bahrain.
Building a green economy in Bahrain can provide the boost for technological innovation to become a catalyst of economic reform. Partnerships like the one between Mumtakalat and Investcorp to launch a $750 million climate investment platform will boost sustainability initiatives and carbon-cutting technologies, like those mentioned above
Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 outlines a comprehensive strategy to diversify the economy beyond oil. Notably, the financial services sector has overtaken oil to become the largest contributor to real GDP, accounting for 17.8% as of 2023.
FinTech Bay has also established the country as a regional FinTech hub, now home to 115 active FinTech companies. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), as the single regulator, drives innovation through its Regulatory Sandbox and comprehensive regulations covering cryptocurrency assets, crowdfunding and other FinTech verticals. Building on this commitment to sustainable finance, our Ministry of Sustainable Development recently partnered with Mastercard to launch Solving for the Future, which has engaged university students to develop solutions that harness FinTech innovation to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Building the future workforce now
To boost growth, you need skilled workers. Much of the conversation around this focused on creating more jobs for young people and providing them with the training to develop the skills they need. That’s even more important as we experience a digital transformation of the jobs market. Young workers will have to adapt rapidly to these changes.
We are taking a proactive stance on this. Tamkeen – the national Labour Fund of Bahrain – supports upskilling, reskilling and skill adaption. In 2023, it empowered 23,000 Bahrainis enrolled in individual development programmes. This has had a significant impact as more than 12,300 Bahrainis secured job opportunities and 10,700 received training support.
Bahrain has also made significant strides towards gender parity in recent years. Women made up 49% of the workforce in 2021, with a participation rate of almost 43%. Bahraini women are also tech leaders, comprising 42% of those who enrol in STEM degrees around one-in-five startup founders – better than London and Silicon Valley. Many have launched successful platforms and organisations dedicated to inspiring and empowering professional women in MENA.
Even as a regional leader in gender parity and wage equality there is more we can do. At Davos, Tamkeen and the WEF signed an agreement to launch Bahrain’s Skills and Gender Parity Accelerator. And as a woman in a prominent role, I was also delighted to contribute to the ‘Global Gender Parity Sprint Champions’ meeting where global leaders collaborated on advancing gender parity and future-proofing diversity efforts.
Building Bahrain’s ‘Industries for the Intelligent Age’
Future jobs will increasingly be in digital and technology sectors impacted by advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).
Our island nation has already attracted tech talent and business from around the world. It is home to the Citi Global Technology hub, which will employ 1,000 Bahraini coders, and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) first regional data centre. Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 is also creating an ecosystem to foster innovation through emerging technologies, such as AI. As part of that, the Telecommunications, ICT, and Digital Economy Sector Strategy (2022-2026) aims to give at least 20,000 citizens the skills and knowledge to combat cybercrime.
These themes prompted much discussion at Davos 2025 and we are confident that Bahrain has a clear vision for the intelligent age: foster collaboration, invest in innovation, and build a future where economic growth and sustainability go hand in hand.
