HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, met the Chairman of the of the Board of Directors of the Canada Arab Business Council (CABC), Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf, to discuss ways to enhance economic and commercial cooperation and investment partnership between the two countries.

During the meeting, the Minister praised the role of the (CABC) in crystallizing common economic visions, and working to widen horizons in many fields, and highlighted the importance of the role of the private sector in consolidating joint relations and increasing the volume of commercial exchange, noting in this regard the facilities the Kingdom of Bahrain offers to attract international projects and benefit from these advantages.

For his part, Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf praised Bahrain’s remarkable progress at the economic and investment levels, noting the strategies and initiatives launched by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to attract international investments and pioneering projects to the Kingdom.

HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, met with Mr. Khalaf Hujair, President of the Bahraini Contractors Association, and some members of the association, to discuss topics and issues related to the contracting sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

His Excellency hailed the role of the Bahraini Contractors Association and its continued cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, affirming the Ministry’s support of all sectors affecting the economic development movement, and the commitment to facilitate the development of contracting institutions. 

For his part, the President of the Contractors Association expressed his appreciation for the great support received from the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the efforts to support the contracting sector to boost its growth and development.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, received a number of employees of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce who have recently obtained a master's degree.

His Excellency hailed their achievements and praised their competencies and continuous efforts in developing services provided by the Ministry, which reflects their dedication and high sense of national responsibility, noting the importance of employing these distinguished academic efforts in developing fields of government work, and wishing them continued progress and success.

The Joint Economic Committee between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its forty-fourth meeting at the Ministry's headquarters, chaired by HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, and HE Mr. Sameer Nass, BCCI Chairman, in the presence of a number of officials and members of the Joint Economic Committee from both sides.

The Minister affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s keenness to support the commercial and economic sectors in light of the comprehensive development process guided by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and followed-up by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

His Excellency highlighted the prominent role played by private sector in supporting the GDP, noting that the BCCI is a key partner in adopting projects and initiatives that reflect positively on supporting the national economy, and stressing the importance of enhancing cooperation to achieve common aspirations.

For his part, BCCI Chairman Sameer Nass pointed to the positive impact of these joint meetings on enhancing economic work, noting that the private sector is a key contributor to the kingdom’s economic growth, and stressing that the Chamber, as a representative of the private sector, will spare no effort in strengthening the national economy in light of global economic developments, finally expressing his appreciation for the Ministry’s efforts to support the private sector.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of the National Committee for Standardization and Metrology, chaired the fifty-eighth meeting of the National Committee for Standardization and Metrology, in the presence of a number of officials at the Ministry and members of the Committee representing the public and private sectors.

The meeting reviewed a number of topics that included the approval of the adoption of 965 optional standard specifications and 116 technical regulations, and the withdrawal of a standard specification and a Gulf technical regulation at the national level, after competent local technical committees of the National Committee for Standardization and Metrology completed the study of these projects and ensured their suitability for application in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and notifying the World Trade Organization in order to meet the requirements of the Agreement on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade of the Organization. Global trade.

The meeting also reviewed the mechanism for issuing universal identification codes (WMI) for automotive manufacturers followed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the Inspection and Metrology Directorate was appointed as a reference point of contact in the Kingdom of Bahrain to coordinate the registration of identification codes for local manufacturers within the international system of the Association.

HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, affirmed the government’s commitment to supporting and developing the industrial sector as a major contributor to the kingdom’s national economy.

This came during an inspection tour conducted by His Excellency to a number of factories in Bahrain Industrial Area in Sitra, in the presence of a number of officials, as part of the ministry's efforts to follow up on all developments in the industrial sector and identify its requirements and future plans.

The Minister referred to the Industrial Sector Strategy 2022-2026, which revolves around increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP, and increasing exports of national origin, while providing promising job opportunities for citizens. Noting that the strategy is based on supporting the sector's transformation towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, applying the concept of a circular carbon economy and environmental and social governance, encouraging investment in technological infrastructure, digitizing manufacturing, and increasing the efficiency of supply chains through integration of Gulf industries.

Sayed Junaid Alam W.L.L. specializes in the manufacture of soap, detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and cosmetics, while Wires International Co WL.L., works in the manufacture of other formed metal products. His Excellency was briefed on the current situation in the factories, and reviewed the production processes and services they provide.

The Consumer Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced the signing of 3 service level agreements between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the commercial sector cooperating in receiving and addressing consumer complaints from citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Shaikh Hamad binSalman Al Khalifa,Assistant Undersecretary for Domesticand ForeignTrade at the Ministry, confirmed that the signing of these agreementsis a part of the operational anddevelopment plan of the Consumer Protection Directorate,and follows the signing of 3 MoUs lastyear withLulu Hypermarket, Talabat, and Extra, which expanded this year to include: Ramez, Jahezand JustClean InternetServices.

The Assistant Undersecretaryfor Domesticand ForeignTrade addedthat the Consumer ProtectionDirectorate at the Ministry alwaysseeks toimprove the levelof performanceprovided to consumersto enhance the quality andefficiency of servicesby harnessingmodern technologies, and utilizing partnership with the commercial sector,as theagreement includes termsand conditionsunder which the two signatory partieswill provideservices to consumers,by settingthe foundationsand frameworkfor providinghigh-quality services inaccordance with LawNo. (35)of 2012on consumerprotection and itsexecutive regulations.

Moreover, he noted that this step aims to obtain a mutual agreement between the government sector and the commercial sector to ensure the provision of distinguished services to consumers by directing, resolving and addressing complaints received before the expiry of the period specified in the service level agreement, while defining responsibilities, duties and obligations of both parties, in addition to achieving common goals and enhancing mutual trust.

The Assistant Undersecretary also expressed his appreciation to all the shops that signed and cooperated with the Consumer Protection Directorate over the past years in resolving and addressing consumer complaints.

Within the framework of the official visit to Washington, a signing ceremony was held this morning on an agreement of understanding and cooperation on applying the fast-track system for technical examination of patents (PPH) with the US Patent Office. In the presence of H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, to represent the Bahraini side, and H.E. Kathy Vidal, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the Patent and Trademark Office, to represent the American side.

The Minister valued this step which drives the Kingdom of Bahrain towards further development of the patents and intellectual property sector, emphasizing Bahrain's position in preserving and protecting all types of intellectual property and patent rights, which in turn contributes to increasing the flow of investments.

The agreement comes as part of the work plan to develop the regulatory and procedural framework related to the registration of intellectual property and patents in cooperation with the Prime Minister Office, the agreement will enable:  Accelerating of technical examination procedures of patent applications, enhancing cooperation in the fields of patents with the US Patent Office, facilitating exchange of information on the latest findings of both sides regarding patent applications filed with the Bahrain Patent Office, exchanging best practices and experiences in the field of managing patent offices and procedures for examination and grants, raising the quality of the reports of the Bahraini National Office, and preventing conflicts in technical results with major international patent offices, and promoting the Kingdom's global position as a country that preserves and protects all types of intellectual property rights including patent rights, in addition to increasing revenues related to filing patent applications and examining them technically.

The fast-track system for technical examination of patents, which supports the applicant approved by international patent offices, including the US Patent Office, to speed up the procedures for granting patents in the Kingdom of Bahrain based on the examination reports issued by the five major international government offices proposed to be contracted bilaterally, and through this agreement, the Kingdom of Bahrain aspires to enhance cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the US Patent Office in order to build a knowledge-based economy based on creativity and innovation. The system also aims to provide an attractive environment for regional and international investments, in addition to enabling the examination of patent applications filed with the Bahrain Patent Office, especially in cases where a specialized patent examiner is not available.

The system ensures that patent applications are processed efficiently and effectively, ultimately positioning Bahrain as a hub for technological progress and intellectual property development, fostering an ecosystem that fosters innovation.