His Highness Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa the Crown Prince & Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board visits Singapore
Bahrain committed to driving foreign direct investment and building on relations
Singapore, 15 October 2008: His Highness Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (“EDB”), made a three-day official visit to Singapore to foster closer economic and political ties between Bahrain and Singapore. His Highness was accompanied by H.E. Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain EDB as well as a delegation of prominent business leaders from Bahrain.
Commenting on his visit to Singapore, His Highness said: “We are delighted to have been invited to meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President S R Nathan and key Singapore government officials. We value our ongoing diplomatic and economic relationship with Singapore over the years, and believe that this visit has further cemented our ties. We look forward to a continued mutually beneficial relationship between both countries.”
Bahrain and Singapore share similarities in terms of developmental and geographical conditions as well as economic and financial development goals. The governments and private enterprises in both countries have entered into numerous strategic alliances over the years to share and leverage on each others’ experiences. The economic ties between Bahrain and Singapore were further strengthened when the Bahrain Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange inked a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to explore collaboration opportunities for the benefit of the financial services industries in Singapore and Bahrain during this visit.
Hailing the MOU, H.E. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa said: “The MOU is the latest milestone in the long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship maintained by the Kingdom of Bahrain and the nation of Singapore, which itself is a reflection of Singapore’s appreciation of the competitive advantages offered by the Middle East’s most robust economy”.
During this visit, His Highness also graced a reception hosted by Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c) in his honour, attended the launch of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Middle East Business Group Knowledge Partnership Programme and networking session, and visited INSEAD’s Asia campus. His Highness and the Bahraini delegation interacted with future business leaders and entrepreneurs at INSEAD, and exchanged ideas with prominent Singapore business leaders at the Arcapita reception and SBF networking session. Participants at the SBF event also gained deeper insights into the attractive business-friendly environment that Bahrain offers as well as the strategic advantages of investing in Bahrain from a presentation by H.E. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa.
This is His Highness’s third visit to Singapore at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a reflection of the warm and friendly ties between the two countries. Recent MOUs signed between Bahrain and Singapore include an MOU between Bahrain’s Ministry of Finance and the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) to boost links with and facilitate access to Singapore’s public sector; and an MOU between Bahrain’s Ministry of Electricity and Water Authority, Bahrain’s Works Ministry and Singapore’s Public Utilities Board to share Singapore’s knowledge in water distribution efficiencies and conversation, and sanitary engineering and services.
-ENDS
Notes to editors:
About The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)
The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is a dynamic public agency with an overall responsibility for formulating and overseeing the economic development strategy of Bahrain, and for creating the right climate to attract direct investment into the Kingdom.
The role of the Bahrain EDB is to provide leadership by uniting all of the Kingdom's shareholders through a unified vision, and to develop key strategies for growth. The Bahrain EDB also acts as a facilitator, helping all of Bahrain's stakeholders to understand and adopt the changes necessary for progress. In addition, the Bahrain EDB provides sound project management to ensure that all agreed reform initiatives are implemented in an effective and timely manner.
The Bahrain EDB is also responsible for attracting inward investment into Bahrain, and is focusing on six target economic sectors in which the Kingdom offers significant strengths. These are financial services, downstream industries, tourism, business services, logistics and health, education and training.
More information on the Bahrain EDB is available on the Bahrain EDB’s website on www.bahrainedb.com
EDB Mission Statement
Our mission is to grow and diversify Bahrain’s economy by developing a strategy that supports the advancement of a modern and liberalized business environment, encourages inward investment and enables us to compete in the global marketplace.
We are dedicated to raising living standards by creating greater opportunities for our citizens and to make Bahrain the Gulf’s most welcoming, business friendly location. We will accomplish these goals by working in partnership with the public and private sectors, and by being passionate, professional and innovative in all that we do.
For more information, please contact:
Weber Shandwick PR for the EDB and BFS
Gerry Wong
Telephone: + 65 6825 8069
Mobile: + 65 9247 4963
Email: gerry.wong@webershandwick.com
Vicki Morley (Weber Shandwick London)
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7067 0707 (Direct)
Mobile: + 44 (0) 789 409 4577
Email: vmorley@webershandwick.com