In a discussion panel jointly organised by the Kingdom of Bahrain and the World Bank
The Kingdom of Bahrain is taking steady and promising steps to enhance the business environment in international indexes
** December, 2019: In a discussion panel that was attended by officials from the World Bank and where light was casted on the key indexes announced by the World Bank and related to the 2020 index on the Ease of Doing Business, the Kingdom of Bahrain has been ranked the second among Arab countries and among the top 10 countries that witnessed an enhancement worldwide in the index, which included 190 countries. This is the best rank achieved by Bahrain in this international index.
This was announced in the presence of a number of ministers, parliamentarians, businessmen from the private sector and representatives from the local and international media. During the panel, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani welcomed the attendees in his opening speech and affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain is taking steady and promising steps in enhancing the business environment in accordance with the highest international standards, reflecting the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
In the panel, H.E. the Minister stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain, by the combined efforts of Team Bahrain which includes ministries, governmental and private institutions, and non-governmental organisations, has achieved through Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, outstanding international results in the economic indexes due to the economic reform plans and the implementation of legislations and regulatory frameworks aiming to facilitate practicing of businesses within the Kingdom. Mr. Al Zayani reaffirmed that this contributed in advancing the ranking of the Kingdom in the Ease of Doing Business index by 19 places from 62 to 43 this year, ranking it among the top 10 countries worldwide and placing it among the most countries that witnessed an enhancement in the Ease of Doing Business 2020 Report among 190 countries.
On his part, CEO of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) Mr. Khalid Humaidan stated: “This activity grants an important opportunity to understand the positive affects realised by the economic policies and initiatives pursued by the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the provision of flexible and innovative legislations, the developmental approach has contributed to enhancing the business environment and attracting many companies that contribute to revitalising the movement of our economy, providing job opportunities in the local market and creating value across the supply chain. What have been achieved in a record period in the International Index of Ease of Doing Business is considered as a major achievement for Bahrain.”
The discussion panel, which was attended by World Bank officials and representatives, highlighted the aspects that enabled the Kingdom to achieve such an advanced position after evaluating its efforts in different key indexes, including the reduction of issuing construction permits through the “Benayat” system, which contributed to enhanced Bahrain’s ranking by 40 ranks, placing it in the 17th international position, and the advancement of Bahrain by 9 ranks in procedures of ownership transfer after reducing the period from 31 days to two days only, as well as the implementation of the contracts periods, contributing to enhancing Bahrain’s international position by 69 positions.
Additionally, the Kingdom has paid more efforts in various fields such as the settlement of bankruptcy cases through the introduction of a reorganisation and bankruptcy law that improved the kingdom’s global ranking by 33 positions, as well as measures taken in the field of cross-border trade through Bahrain’s acceleration of the export process using modern technology that had a contributing role, along with what has been achieved in the field of investors’ access to credit, which has strengthened the improvement of Bahrain’s global rank by 18 places.
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