H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, headed the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the periodic consultative meeting between Their Excellencies the Ministers of Commerce of the GCC and Their Excellencies the Heads of the GCC Federation of Chambers, which was held within the framework of the meetings of the GCC Ministerial Committees in Doha.

The meeting discussed topics on the agenda and reviewed the ministers’ views on this regard.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of the National Committee for Standardization and Metrology, stressed the importance of strengthening partnership with standardization bodies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

This came during the 7^th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs of the GCC, which was held in Qatar, with the participation of Mr. Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, Secretary General of the GCC, and Their Excellencies the heads of delegations of member states of the Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs in the GCC.

The meeting discussed several topics on the agenda, most important of which is the approval of the outputs of the 58^th meeting of the Technical Council of GSO held between 24 and 25 April 2024, and the approval of the final GSO account for the fiscal year 2023, in addition to discussing a number of legislations and topics to enhance the safety and quality of products traded in the Gulf market, and support the development of quality services and infrastructure, in line with the international prospect to protect the environment.

Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is hosting the first Arab Forum for Consumer Protection, which will be launched in its first edition in the Arab world and West Asia in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 20 to 21 February 2024, in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and representatives of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 

The Forum will be attended by a group of experts, lawyers, academics and technicians in the field of consumer protection from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab and West Asian countries, in addition to high-level representation from (ESCWA) and the (UNCTAD).

The second edition of the Arab Consumer Protection Day celebration was launched this morning under the slogan "Arab Women and Consumer Protection", in the presence of H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, and Bahjat Abu Al-Nasr, the director of the Economic Integration Department of the Arab League, and with the participation of a number of Bahraini society women from civil societies, university students, and a group of experts, legalists, academics and technicians in the field of consumer protection from 25 participating countries from the GCC and Arab region, within the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Bahrain.

On this occasion, His Excellency the Minister confirmedthat the launch of this distinguished initiative came in response to the recommendations of the 13^th meeting of the group of experts and specialists in the field of consumer protection within the Greater Arab Free TradeArea of the Arab League. To highlight every year animportant topic facingconsumers at the Arab world,as thisyear'scelebration carries the slogan"Arab Women andConsumer Protection", which the Kingdom of Bahrain has always soughtto support.

The Minister noted that the celebration included the first dialogue to discuss challenges and solutions centeredaround Arab women with regard to consumer practices, by presenting a distinguished set ofexperiences and practices appliedin consumerprotection agencies atthe Gulfand Arabregion. Affirming the Kingdom of Bahrain's support to futureaspirations in the field of consumer protection in the area, under the GeneralSecretariat of the Arab League and the members of the Group of Expertsand Specialistsin the field of consumerprotection within the GreaterArab FTA.

In cooperation with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, organized a joint event to discuss the latest developments in the industrial sector during the year 2023.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stressed the keenness to continue developing promising sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain, including the industrial sector. In addition to providing the necessary support for the growth and sustainability of this sector due to its role in advancing comprehensive development in line with the Industrial Sector Strategy (2022-2026).

 His Excellency praised the role of the private sector and the importance of strengthening partnership with it to accelerate the pace of investment, especially in light of the prosperity of the industrial system which receives full support from Bahrain, which is characterized by its fertile environment for establishing projects, and an ideal export terminal that resulted in a number of positive indicators.

For his part, Dr. Khaled Fahad Al Alawi, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial Development at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, gave a presentation that included the most prominent statistics related to the industrial sector during 2023, which portrayed positive growth, pointing to the most important incentives and enablers that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce launched according to the industrial sector strategy (2022-2026), and reviewing the most important investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical industries, renewable energy industries, downstream petrochemicals, manufacturing aluminum, food industries, and semiconductor industry.

Moreover, the event showcased details of the program to promote sustainable industrialization (green factory labeling) in partnership with the private sector, which was announced during the Kingdom of Bahrain’s participation in the Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), and highlighted the Industrial Investment Guide, which is considered the first reference for industrial investment in the Kingdom, in addition to reviewing the evaluation mechanism developed for applications for allocating industrial plots. The event also included an awarding of the first graduated batch of twenty individuals who completed the required training hours to be accredited as evaluators of the "iFactories" initiative, aimed at supporting the transformation of the industrial sector towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution in cooperation with the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).

The second Arab Consumer Protection Day will be held this year in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the slogan "Arab Women and Consumer Protection". Scheduled to be launched tomorrow Monday, and organized by the Consumer Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Bahrain.

A group of GCC and Arab experts, legalists, academics, and technicians in the field of consumer protection within the Greater Arab Free Trade Area will participate in the celebration, in the presence of a number of Bahraini society women from civil societies, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Bahrain.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce confirmed that holding the celebration of the Arab Consumer Protection Day in Manama comes as a continuation and extension of the outstanding success achieved by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of consumer protection during the year 2023, most notably the Consumer Friend Initiative, which aimed to serve the interest of all consumers, citizens, residents, and visitors to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Ministry called on those interested in the field of protecting consumer rights to follow the official page of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce @moicbahrain, to obtain more details and register for the celebration.

The celebration of Arab Consumer Protection Day comes in response to the recommendation of the 13^th meeting of the Group of Experts in the field of consumer protection within the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, which falls under the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. The celebration of Arab Consumer Protection Day is organized annually in one of the Arab countries in conjunction with the World Consumer Rights Protection Day, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1983 to discuss the most important yearly topics in the field of consumer protection.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, inaugurated Multinational School Bahrain Commerce Day festival 2024. 

During the visit, H.E. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, praised the efforts of the school administration in developing and refining students' business skills, and toured the exhibition to browse projects, products and services accompanying the festival. Where he was briefed on the various young projects, in addition to the most important services and training programs provided by the school.

For her part, school principal Ola Abu Zaarour, expressed appreciation to HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, for inaugurating the MNS Bahrain Commerce Day Festival 2024, noting that the aim of this festival is to allow students to learn about business practices in the real market, and hoping that they benefit from this experience to enhance their capabilities in the field of entrepreneurship and contribute positively to the development of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economy in the future.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, received H.E. Okai Asako, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Bahrain, on the occasion of her appointment as Ambassador of her country to the Kingdom.

The Minister stressed the depth of the strong economic relations that tie Bahrain and Japan, which contributed to raising the terms of trade and expanding the scope of investments and projects in the interest of both countries, expressing his sincere wishes to Her Excellency the Ambassador in her duties.

Ambassador Asako expressed her deep thanks and appreciation to the Minister for his keenness and interest in strengthening trade relations between Bahrain and Japan, affirming the importance of expanding areas of cooperation in various fields.