Washington, D.C – November 30, 2017. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Bahrain Business Council hosted a reception honoring His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister with U.S. business leaders following official meetings at the White House and Pentagon.
H.R.H. the Crown Prince highlighted the positive levels of the ongoing cooperation between Bahrain and U.S. enterprises, while noting the deep-rooted bilateral ties that exist between the two countries. Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board Khalid Al-Rumaihi highlighted the growing pipeline of FDI projects in Bahrain due to the business-friendly climate and strategic location. Mondelez and Amazon Web Services followed with remarks highlighting their success stories in Bahrain. U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain Justin Siberell then underlined the strong partnership between the United States and Bahrain and expressed support of the U.S. government for furthering relations in the commercial sphere.
His Royal Highness acknowledged a series of recently announced agreements, amounting to approximately $10 billion will directly benefit the private sectors in both Bahrain and the U.S. Approximately $5 billion of these commercial signings were held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Companies involved in the signings included Aluminum Bahrain, Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (represented by H.E. Sh. Mohamed Al-Khalifa, Minister of Oil), Bechtel, General Electric, Gulf Air, and TechnipFMC. Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon and the Minister of Industry, Commerce, & Tourism H.E. Zayed Al-Zayani signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation toward the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Together the H.R.H. the Crown Prince, Khush Choksy, Senior Vice President for Middle East & Turkey Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Khalid Al Zayani, Co-Chairman of the U.S.-Bahrain Business Council inaugurated an annual U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Award of Excellence to highlight the successful utilization of the bilateral FTA to enhance economic growth and prosperity for both U.S. and Bahraini private sectors. Mondelez International and Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) received this honor. The U.S.-Bahrain Business Council encourages nominations from the U.S. and Bahraini private sectors to be considered for this award in 2019.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce thanks event sponsors for their support the Bahrain Economic Development Board; Lockheed Marin; Halliburton; TechnipFMC; Boeing; Cigna; Fluor; General Electric; and SAH Global.
