Rome, Italy. 5th February 2020: The Italian Trade Agency (ICE) today announced the opening of an office in Bahrain after signing an agreement with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), on the sidelines of an official delegation visit to the Italian Republic, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister.
The agreement seeks to enhance trading and investment opportunities and cooperation between both countries’ strategic economic sectors, including manufacturing and Logistics, Financial Services, Information and Communication Technology, Tourism, Construction, and Oil and Gas. The agreement, which is expected to further develop bilateral economic cooperation between Bahrain and Italy, is one of the many agreements worth a total of EUR330 million signed during HRH the Crown Prince’s official visit to the country.
HE Khalid Humaidan, Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, said: “Italy and Bahrain have longstanding trade and economic ties and this week’s official visit aims to strengthen that relationship by providing a platform for collaboration, partnership, and shared opportunities. That is the spirit in which we sign today’s agreement, which will pave the way for trade and investment cooperation between companies in the Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Roberto Luongo, Managing Director at the Italian Trade Agency, said: “Today’s agreement will advance even further the already formidable economic and trading partnership enjoyed by Italy and Bahrain. I look forward to working closely with the Bahrain Economic Development Board to identify and create opportunities between Italian and Bahraini companies, facilitating business relations and investments across an increasingly wide range of sectors.”
The agreement marks the latest chapter in a long history of economic and trade ties between Bahrain and Italy, first established in 1973. Since then, a number of agreements across a range of sectors have been signed, including those covering the protection of investments and the mutual exemption of taxes on air and sea transport.
Bahrain is currently home to more than 60 Italian commercial enterprises, with the largest concentration of firms in the manufacturing sector. With its flexible regulatory environment, world-class physical and digital infrastructure, and some of the best-value operating costs in the region, hyper-connected Bahrain is increasingly the destination of choice for companies from all over the world seeking to access the growing USD1.5 trillion Gulf markets.
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For more information, please contact:
Communications and Media Department
Economic Development Board
Phone: +973 397 989 19
E-mail: internationalmedia@bahrainedb.com
About Bahrain Economic Development Board
The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is an investment promotion agency with overall responsibility for attracting investment into the Kingdom and supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate.
The EDB works with the government and both current and prospective investors, in order to ensure that Bahrain’s investment climate is attractive, to communicate the key strengths, and to identify where opportunities exist for further economic growth through investment.
The EDB focuses on several economic sectors that capitalise on Bahrain’s competitive advantages and provide significant investment opportunities. These sectors include financial services, manufacturing, ICT, tourism, logistics and transport.
For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit www.bahrainedb.com; for information about Bahrain visit www.bahrain.com.
About The Italian Trade Agency
The ICE is the Italian government agency that supports the business development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy. With a motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of overseas offices, ICE provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to Italian small and medium-sized businesses. Using the most modern multi-channel promotion and communication tools, it acts to assert the excellence of Made in Italy in the world.
For more information visit https://www.ice.it/en/
