Bahrain’s international free trade
19/06/2008
The World Economic Forum’s Enabling Trade Index has confirmed Bahrain’s position as a regional leader in international free trade.
The Index, which rates a total of 118 countries worldwide on how well they facilitate the free flow of goods across borders, ranked Bahrain's economy the second most open in the Gulf.
Bahrain, which has a reputation of driving economic openness within the region, was rated above fellow GCC states of Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by the report that placed the Kingdom 37th in the worldwide rankings.
Crucial to Bahrain's recent success in this sphere has been the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA that was signed in 2006. The FTA, which resulted from long established commercial and diplomatic relations with the United States, was the first of its kind between Washington DC and any GCC state. The deal was fast tracked in two and a half years from start to finish.
The FTA not only reaffirms Bahrain's open market policies by liberalising trade in goods and services, it also gives companies investing in Bahrain a competitive advantage. This is shown by the 46.5% increase in Bahrain's exports to the USA in 2006 following the agreement coming into effect.
