Kingdom well placed to attract foreign investment - Bahrain 

Bahrain has an adequate legal framework and preparedness to attract more foreign direct investments (FDI) in all vital sectors. The Kingdom received around $1 billion two years ago, a senior expert from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said yesterday.

Masataka Fujita, head of investment trends section at UNCTAD, told a Press conference that the diversification of the economies and targeting specific sectors will further help in creating an ideal investment climate for more inward FDI in the region. Conference experts highlighted the importance of clear, transparent, objectives-oriented, long-term policies and necessary infrastructure to support the ambitions of any country to attract more foreign investments.

"FDI is a package of transfer of technology and investments from developed nations to the developing world. So, it is up to recipients how effectively they bring changes in their existing system to absorb more investment."
Fujita said: "Bahrain's position has been further strengthened by signing free-trade agreements with other countries. This is also taken as a big incentive by foreign investors. High oil prices further necessitate the region to adopt their priorities to the best possible economic model."

He said: "There is a very deep link between the FDIs and economic development so countries should realise the importance of the attractive investment climate. Given the size of the economy, Bahrain has done well on this front. However, there is a room to improve the legal framework and set new priorities in line with changing global trends.
"This region has huge potential to attract more foreign investments. The human capital and focus of many countries in this region on human-resource development is an added advantage for these economies to enhance the role of foreign investments in economic development."


The two-member UNCTAD delegation, including Fujita and Thomas Pollan, is in Bahrain to conduct a three-day workshop on understanding and analysing FDI statistics.
Organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), the workshop will provide first-hand knowledge about FDI trends. Earlier, Sulaf Zakriya from EDB, on behalf of the board's deputy chief executive officer, said the main challenge today is to improve the investment climate in our countries.

She added: "All countries in the region at this time have embarked on reform programmes to ensure lasting improvements in their investment environments. These reforms will establish platforms for foreign investors and bring us closer to full integration with the global economy.

"Therefore, it is up to us to take full advantage of FDI, not to miss any opportunities to bring about further improvements in productivity and competitiveness to raise living standards. The aim of this workshop is to raise awareness of the importance of such investment in the region and to improve our reporting of it to our governments and the private sector," said Zakriya.
"It is only through our reporting of the impact and trends of FDI that we will be able to set correct policies and procedures to increase foreign-investment inflow into our economies." The workshop is attended by over 50 experts, government officials and private sector representatives.