in september, a government delegation led by xu qin, mayor of shenzhen, visited bahrain. invest shenzhen co-organized a series of promotional events there to facilitate exchanges and cooperation in trade, culture, transportation and tourism. to reap more achievements during visits, bahrain sent a high-level delegation to attend the china high-tech fair. jointly hosted by invest shenzhen, the international federation of invest shenzhen and the bahrain economic development board, the bahrain – shenzhen business forum was held on november 17. mayor xu, shaikh hisham bin abdulrahman al-khalifa, capital governor of bahrain, and khalid ai rumaihi, ceo of the bahrain economic development board, attended and delivered speeches.
xu said that bahrain is one of the countries in the middle east with the highest degree of openness, the best business environment and the most robust vitality, adding that bahrain is a major gateway linking shenzhen and the middle east and gulf countries. as shenzhen and bahrain are regions along the "belt and road" routes, shenzhen will implement the requirements from the central and provincial governments to ensure shenzhen plays a pivotal role in the "belt and road" and work together with bahrain and other neighboring cities, to build the guangdong-hong kong-macau big bay area. shenzhen and bahrain will boost already substantial cooperation in finance, it, logistics, innovation and entrepreneurship, conventions and exhibitions, and tourism. in addition, they will also build industrial parks, engage in port development, open direct flights and make new energy investments to supplement their advantages.
shaikh hisham bin abdulrahman al-khalifa and khalid ai rumaihi said that driven by the leaders of the two countries, bahrain is pleased to be one of the countries along the "belt and road" and become one of china's major trade partners. bahrain boasts exclusive transportation and geographic advantages, sound communication and transportation networks, well-established infrastructure and an advanced financial system. they welcomed businesses and people from shenzhen to invest in and visit bahrain and hoped bahrain can become a gateway for chinese companies to enter the gulf region and the middle east and bahrain can strengthen its ties with china via shenzhen.
honored guests such as xu and shaikh hisham bin abdulrahman al-khalifa also witnessed the signing of an mou between relevant departments of bahrain and invest shenzhen, the international federation of invest shenzhen, byd and handicraft art work committee to advance cooperation in relevant areas.
before the forum, xu held talks with shaikh hisham bin abdulrahman al-khalifa and khalid ai rumaihi. anwar al abdullah, bahrain's ambassador to china, and attended a number of related events on that day. local institutions and businesses in bahrain and businesses in shenzhen held negotiations to advance cooperation in investment.
