organized by the government of bahrain and the bahrain economic development board and co-organized by invest shenzhen and the bahrain chamber of commerce & industry, the china (shenzhen)—bahrain economic and trade cooperation exchange conference was successfully held in manama, capital of bahrain, on september 5. the event showcased shenzhen's marvelous achievements in urban development and attracted many local entrepreneurs and created a buzz in bahrain and surrounding countries. approximately 150 chinese and foreign guests attended the conference, including shenzhen mayor xu qin, mr. khalid al moayed, chairman of the bahrain chamber of commerce & industry and also a member of cabinet, shaikh hisham bin abdulrahman al khalifa, governor of bahrain, khalid al rumaihi, ceo of the bahrain economic development board, as well as representatives from renowned local companies such as osool asset management and diyar al muharraq.
xu qin was first to deliver a keynote speech in which he said that bahrain is the most open economy in the middle east and the gulf region with the most favorable business environment and the strongest momentum. shenzhen intends to expand its cooperation with bahrain in finance, information technology, innovation and venture capital, mice tourism, port logistics, energy conservation and environment protection, new energy, and industrial zone development to achieve win-win results. wang youming, director-general of invest shenzhen, then made an overall introduction of shenzhen's investment environment and highlighted its advantages, including economic, industry, innovation and talent. wang also elaborated on the city's plans for 2016 and 2020 and looked forward to the city's future by introducing the opportunities presented by investing in shenzhen's infrastructure construction projects, upgrade of public services and establishment of a tier-based modern industrial system. khalid al moayed, khalid al rumaihi and simon galpin, managing director of the bahrain economic development board, also delivered speeches to introduce bahrain's business environment, and offered directions in which both sides could expand trade and investment cooperation. representatives from companies such as huawei, cimc and diyar al muharraq shared cases and experiences in making investments and conducting cooperation in shenzhen and bahrain, which provided a reference and channel for companies seeking to do likewise. many local companies in bahrain discussed opportunities for cooperation with invest shenzhen, the shenzhen branch of china council for the promotion of international trade (ccpit shenzhen) and some companies in shenzhen and said that they are willing to expand exchanges and cooperation with the city. the bahrain chamber of commerce & industry and bahrain bourse plan to lead a delegation to visit shenzhen to negotiate future collaboration.
some economic and trade cooperation projects were signed and launched at the conference. invest shenzhen, ccpit shenzhen, shenzhen association of trade in services, huawei and galaxy group signed contracts for six projects worth us$510 million. a launching ceremony for cimc's project in bahrain was also held during the conference, at which khalid al rumaihi issued an operating license to a representative of cimc. cimc decided to make an investment in bahrain to build an assembly plant for refrigerated trucks to expand its coverage to the middle east and north africa. the signed projects involve finance, logistics, industry funding, mice tourism and trade services. efforts bolstering the projects will mark a new beginning and generate momentum for shenzhen and bahrain's economic and trade cooperation.
