Bahrain expects to attract $2.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2025 under a roadmap that supports long-term growth and competitiveness.

The Economic Development Board (EDB), which is the national investment promotion agency, managed to attract $1.1bn in FDIs through 88 companies last year, said Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa in an interview to the Oxford Business Group.

Featured in the OBG’s annual report on Bahrain, the interview quotes Shaikh Khalid as saying that these investments are expected to generate more than 6,300 jobs for Bahrainis by 2025.

The roadmap that he was referring to is the Economic Recovery Plan launched in 2021.

The plan includes 27 programmes under five main pillars: Upskilling the Bahraini workforce; Prioritising six sectors – oil and gas, tourism, logistics, manufacturing, financial services, digital economy and ICT; Channelling $30bn in strategic projects; Bringing in fiscal reform to reduce costs and adjust prices; and Simplifying regulations and urban planning to promote business opportunities.

Shaikh Khalid said the synergy between the public and private sectors is the cornerstone of the government’s plans to enhance efficiency and promote governance, adding that the private sector will be able to play an essential role as the driving engine of the national economy.

He highlighted the government’s plans to fast-track digital transformation by increasing information technology and telecommunications start-ups, upgrading services, expanding the national employment scheme and training 20,000 citizens in cybersecurity by the end of 2026.

Reiterating Bahrain’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, Shaikh Khalid said this was in support of global efforts to combat climate change.

“These long-term goals have been integrated into the Economic Recovery Plan,” he indicated, highlighting Bahrain’s ongoing strategies to promote sustainability, such as the National Renewable Energy Plan.

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