The Hindu Business Line : Ties with India ready for take-off

Both countries recognise that fresh opportunities have emerged in recent years that would allow their ties to blossom in the future. The flavour of the new relationship was perceptible during the opening remarks of the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr E. Ahamed during his recent visit to Bahrain. Addressing the fourth meeting of the India-Bahrain Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation, Mr Ahamed said that Bahrain could look at India as a destination for investments in the area of infrastructure and power development.

He stressed that India and Bahrain could establish joint ventures in the field fertilisers and invest their capital in third countries as well. Petrochemical and chemical industries in which the two countries had acquired notable expertise, as well as the real estate sector, had emerged as promising areas for joint forays.

SME sector

Besides, India has been keen to work together with Bahraini companies in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector.

The Indian side wishes to establish “cutting edge” business enterprises, as it sees Bahrain as the gateway to important global markets. Bahrain has recently entered into a Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement with the US. The move allows enterprises located in Bahrain to access the huge US market.

IT expertise

Bahrain, on its part, has been showing considerable interest in benefiting from Indian expertise in the Information Technology (IT) sector. India has been responding positively to these moves. In May, 2001 itself, a 15-member delegation led by the Electronics and Computer software Export Promotion Council (ESC) from India visited Bahrain. During its stay, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) - the nodal agency for development of the IT sector in the country. The MoU envisaged tie ups in several activities including business development, training programmes, seminars and workshops.

Subsequently, the EDB signed MoUs with the National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to develop SMEs, IT and telecom sectors.

Bahrain has also opened up its banking sector to Indian enterprises. Several Indian banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Bank of Baroda and IDBI, have been offered wholesale licences to setup businesses in Bahrain.

Some Indian public sector companies that are already operating in the Kingdom include Air India, Indian, LIC International, New India Assurance Company and Petroleum Indian International.

The automotive parts sector, which has a huge market in the Gulf, is another area of possible collaboration. Healthcare offers enormous opportunities as the Government of Bahrain is encouraging its hospitals and healthcare units to look for Indian expertise in this field.

In a separate move, Bahrain is offering international operators some of its onshore assets close to the Awali Field for exploration. Bahraini officials say that Indian oil companies have been encouraged to participate in the bidding process.

Pearl industry

From a commercial standpoint, the pearling industry played a big role in bringing Indian and Gulf businessmen together. This relationship was forged before oil was discovered in the Gulf in the 1930s and 1940s. A large section of the population in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the east coast of Saudi Arabia was involved in pearling activity. While raw pearls were produced in the Gulf, they were pierced, polished, and converted into jewellery in India. Not surprisingly, Mumbai became central to the global pearl industry.

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