The Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani, met with the British Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, during his official visit to the United Kingdom. The two sides discussed the ongoing negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the GCC countries and the UK, and the economic benefits this agreement will bring about for both nations. ​

Minister Alzayani affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain is committed to working with the UK on advancing bilateral cooperation across all avenues of mutual benefit. He highlighted that the UK is a major global investment partner for the Kingdom, and the FTA will open new doors that will further cement this economic partnership between the two sides. 

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed ways to further develop and increase the volume of bilateral investments during the next phase, highlighting the potential role the private sector can play in achieving this goal

H.E. Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry and Commerce participated in a seminar held at the headquarters of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in London, in the presence of Baroness Elizabeth Symons, Chairman of Arab British Chamber of Commerce, and Bandar Reda, CEO & Secretary General of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce. Regarding the FTA between GCC countries and the UK.  With participation of a number of senior officials.

The seminar addressed important topics regarding recently launched FTA and its advantages to Arab and regional countries, as it will develop and increase investments and trade between the GCC and the UK. This will contribute to economic growth and prosperity in the UK and the Gulf region as well as ways to develop and increase diversified investments between them, in order to achieve common goals and visions.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani received the Bahrain-Russian Friendship and Business Assosiation President Dr. George Zreikat, and Vice president Anatoly Mitroshin, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Russian Federation, H.E. Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Saati.

The Minister highlighted the efforts of the Bahrain-Russian Friendship and Business Assosiation in strengthening economic, cultural and social cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Russian Federation.

He stressed the major role such joint partnerships play in promoting economic exchange between countries.

The Minister noted the depth of mutual relations between the two countries and stressed the importance of developing these relations through mutual visits, joint activities and events.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce, HE. Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani affirmed the Ministry's commitment to continue collaborating with the Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (BIPA) to enhance professionalism and the quality of performance across the Ministry.

During a meeting with BIPA's Director General H.E. Dr. Raed Mohammed Bin Shams, the Minister stressed on the importance of continuing to provide training opportunities on government innovation to public employees and strengthening their capabilities, to uphold the highest standards in public services and further encourage innovation within government work.

HE. Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani highlighted that the positive cooperation with BIPA is a key factor to establishing the foundations of a nurturing and stimulating environment for the Ministry's employees, to keep pace with the ambitious aspirations for future economic development in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

For his part, BIPA's Director General, affirmed the importance of continuing cooperation aimed at raising institutional cadres and developing government outputs to meet the aspirations of citizens. ​

Dr. Bin Shams added that this cooperation includes the exchange of expertise, training and support to build competitiveness and innovation skills, participation in organizing and managing events and activities, monitoring and documenting experiences and writing practical research in the field of government innovation, as well as the provision of technological infrastructure.

Export Bahrain and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide further options and support in Export Financing services to Bahrain-based businesses.

The signing ceremony of the agreement took place at the inauguration of the SMEs Development Board Strategy (2022-2026) in the presence of HE Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Chairman of the SME Development Board, which was signed by Export Bahrain Chief Executive Officer Ms. Safa Sharif Abdulkhaliq and Bahrain Development Bank Chief Executive Officer Ms. Dalal Al Qais.

This agreement intends to boost the international growth of Bahrain based business in their export journey by providing Export Bahrain customers with preferential rates in obtaining financial support to aid their exporting endeavors. The provision of Export Financing is an important spectrum of trade finance as it provides exporters with the necessary support to improve their production and delivery lines as well as to be competitive in international markets. 

The new partnership between Export Bahrain and Bahrain Development Bank is the latest addition to the Export Financing solution provided by Export Bahrain, which aims to provide short-term financing and capital requirements for businesses to capture international business opportunities and global growth by bridging the export financing gap for viable enterprises through facilitating access to financing at a low cost, and to provide access to liquidity that cover the input cost to processing export transactions.

Commenting on the occasion, Export Bahrain Chief Executive, Ms. Safa Sharif Abdulkhaliq stated: “Export Bahrain's vision and efforts are geared towards establishing exclusive partnerships to ease and find solutions to the different challenges that Bahrain-based businesses may encounter during their export journey. Hence, through this new partnership with the Bahrain Development Bank, and by enhancing our Export Financing solution, we are confident that exporters would reap the benefits of this strategic agreement by providing them with the necessary and proper channels to access supply chain financing to capture more global trade opportunities."

Bahrain Development Bank Group Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Dalal Al Qais added: “Supporting the global expansion and international growth of Bahrain-based SMEs is a primary objective at the Bahrain Development Bank. Our aim is to extend our key products and services to SMEs from all various sectors at a preferential rate to support their export journey. We look forward to this new strategic partnership with Export Bahrain to enable SMEs access to global markets through providing the supply chain financing solutions that the SMEs need to fulfil their export procedures and deals."

Since its inception, Export Bahrain has successfully facilitated the exports of 59 products and services categories across 11 different sectors valued at over 184M USD to 60 international markets that include the GCC region, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.​

For more information on this new partnership or any other service provided by Export Bahrain, visit www.export.bh, email info@export.bh, or call +973 1738 3999. Stay tuned to the latest news and updates by following @exportbahrain on social media platforms.

Minister of Industry and Commerce HE Zayed R. Alzayani praised the efforts of the Women's Committee in Financial Technology during a meeting with HH SH Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, member of the Supreme Council of Women and Chairman of the Committee, where a number of topics related to women's economic participation were discussed.
 

HE referred to the strategic efforts and programs applied by the Supreme Council of Women headed by H.R.H Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King, which work compatibly with the development visions and high ambitions of the leadership and government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and stressed that the contribution of Bahraini women has achieved success that exceeded expectations and aspirations, noting in the same context the importance of cooperation and coordination between the two parties to achieve more successes and expand horizons for the empowerment and progress of Bahraini women.​
 

From her part, HH SH Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa praised the initiatives of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in supporting women's participation in the labor market, and the ministry's efforts in supporting emerging projects in the field of financial technology as one of the promising areas on which the kingdom's economic growth depends, which witnessed a remarkable turnout by Bahraini women in recent years by participating in various programs and initiatives that could enhance the skills and competitiveness of women in the field.

Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce, HE Ms. Eman Ahmed Al Doseri, received this morning ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Esin Çakıl, in the presence of Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade, Sh. Hamad bin Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. Where they reviewed the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Turkey.

During the meeting, a number of economic topics between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Turkish Republic were discussed and ways to strengthen them and activate the role of the private sector in both countries, as well as increasing ways to benefit from each other's experiences and increase the volume of trade. Moreover, they reviewed investment opportunities and possibilities available in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the many concessional procedures and facilitations provided by the Government of Bahrain to investors from all over the world, and the distinctive atmosphere of Bahrain, which makes it the preferred destination for international investments in various different domains.

The eCommerce Champions Overseas Program seminars concluded on Saturday, June 25, 2022, under the patronage of HE Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry and Commerce in collaboration with Export Bahrain, (BIBF) and Tamkeen, with the participation of a group of mentoring companies including Annada Brand, Traditional Trends, True Active, Arihant Jewellers and Eatco.
 

The first seminars were initiated by True Active and mentored by Dana Zubari, which discussed the importance of the digital transition of businesses and how to achieve customer satisfaction through online shopping, she also demonstrated the importance of selecting logistics providers according to the exports scale as well as partnering with distributors outside the Kingdom of Bahrain and reviewing marketing methods available to facilitate the company's access to the global markets.

The program's series of mentoring sessions organized by Arihant Jewellers, continued, where the leading mentor Ms. Maryam Ghazi demonstrated the company's exports journey through eCommerce by taking advantage of the solutions offered by Export Bahrain and demonstrated the importance of digital transition to increase the company's profits and enable the company to export and reach number of countries including GCC, Great Britain and USA. Solutions to improve product standards and exports service through eCommerce were also introduced in addition to the challenges the company has faced and how to overcome them.
 

Traditional Trends elaborated on its experience in exports through eCommerce, whereas leading mentor Dalal Hussain presented a range of topics related to eCommerce and exports. As well as hosting a number of eCommerce support service providers to showcase the advantages of implementing the services these companies provide in the field of eCommerce and exports.​
 

Eatco also presented its mentoring sessions which was held by leading mentor Mr. Hadi Dawani, who discussed exports outcomes and its impact on expansion and reaching different markets by taking advantage of their requirements. He also explained how to benefit from the services provided by supporters in the Kingdom of Bahrain such as the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Export Bahrain, Tamkeen and other related entities. He also noted the importance of applying the necessary standards for market access such as branding, product marketing and how to analyze data. In addition to demonstrating the leading mentor experience in eCommerce and exports and potential difficulties faced when switching to eCommerce and exports and how to overcome them.
 

The series of mentoring workshops was concluded by Annada Brand, presented by leading mentor Ms. Nada Alawi, focusing on the importance of eCommerce transition by focusing on reducing operational expenses and having greater access to customers. She also illustrated the most important elements of a successful online store such as choosing the right platform, designing appropriate product display images, providing different payment methods and providing delivery services. She also discussed ways of creating an integrated journey for the customer by paying attention to packaging, displaying product information, providing ways to communicate with the online store through chat and displaying a detailed list of communication information and social media channels.
 

Companies and institutions that qualify from this program will be selected and awarded the title of (eCommerce Champion Overseas) based on the program of work that will be provided by the companies benefiting from the transition to eCommerce and exporting abroad.