Diana Farah

DUBAI: Bahrain and Japan celebrate their 50-year anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations this year, with both countries set on further developing cooperation in various fields, and most specifically, in the investment sector.

Speaking to Arab News Japan, Bahrain’s Economic Development Board’s (EDB) Executive Director of Manufacturing Transport & Logistics Ahmed Sultan said Japan is a crucial country for Bahrain.

“Our relationship with Japan is so important. Our diplomatic relations officially date back to 1972, but the first ever interaction between the two countries was even before that,” he explained. “In the 30s, the first oil shipment [from Bahrain] went out to Japan.”

The strength of the two nations’ relations is clear with the many recent agreements and diplomatic visits taking place over the last year.

In June, an “agreement between Japan and the Kingdom of Bahrain for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investment” was signed by the two countries in Manama.

The agreement aims to further protect and promote investment between Bahrain and Japan, stipulating the treatments according to investment activities in areas such as most-favored-nation treatment, fair and equitable treatment, conditions for expropriation and compensation, freedom of transfers, and procedures for dispute settlements.

According to Sultan, the signing will “help build a closer economic relationship between the two countries. We as the EDB have hosted a number of Japanese companies since the beginning of this year.”

“We are in talks with a lot of them across multiple sectors, whether it is manufacturing, logistics, financial services, etc. We have got a lot hopes and plans to have a number of Japanese companies establishing in Bahrain,” he added.

Sultan told Arab News Japan that the likes of Japanese multinational electrical engineering and software company Yokogawa, which has its MENA HQ in Bahrain, serves the entire GCC and Middle East and Africa region out of the Gulf country.

He added that Kintetsu World Express, a Japanese logistics company, is also working closely with EDB.

“One of our most active EDB offices is actually the one in Japan,” Sultan said. “We meet on a daily basis and talk about potential companies looking to come to Bahrain. A number of projects, especially when it comes to renewable energy, is attracting a lot of attention from big Japanese players.”

With Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 growing nearer, Sultan said huge projects are in the pipeline that would “definitely require and need the Japanese know how.”

The Executive Director said that at the moment, EDB is working with the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) on its modernization project, which is a $6-billion-dollar project. “It will definitely attract a lot of Japanese companies,” he added.

A metro project is also under progress in Bahrain, a $2-billion-dollar project, which has a lot of Japanese bidders involved, according to Sultan.

“We have got the solar energy, renewable energy project, and this has attracted a lot of Japanese and individual companies as well,” Sultan said. “The country has 30 billion dollars for the next phase of investments, this is across strategic infrastructure projects, and obviously Japanese companies would be at the heart of these projects.”

Bahrain’s leadership wants to see the relationship with Japan go to the next level, Sultan said, explaining that therefore there are many visits happening from both sides.

“As I said, Bahrain is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2035, our Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa is committed to doubling the targets of our carbon emissions from the COP21 target,” Sultan told Arab News Japan, adding that this will involve a lot of Japanese players, thanks to their extensive experience in the green field.

In September, Bahraini Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa visited Tokyo and participated in the 6th Bahrain-Japan policy dialogue.

Japan’s side was represented by Assistant Foreign Minister and Director General of the MENA Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nagaoka Kansuke.

The meeting touched on several sectors such as trade and investment, energy and environment, technology and space, archaeology, political cooperation and multilateral cooperation.

Bahrain and Japan reaffirmed their commitment and collaboration in each of the industries, with both sides providing their full support.

According to Sultan, Bahrain has got ambitious plans, with an economic recovery plan announced at the end of last year.

“The pillars are out there, across the industrial sector, tourism, education, healthcare and subsectors,” he said. Going green is at the heart of most projects, Sultan added.

“[Renewable energy] is where we see having the added value from the likes of Japan, helping Bahrain achieve its targets when it comes to the sustainability part of things,” the executive director said. “We believe we have got the right ingredients for us to attract these companies from Japan.”

In December last year, Bahrain’s EDB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Japan External Trade Organization in Dubai (JETRO Dubai) at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The new partnership aimed to further strengthen relations between Bahrain and Japan and to help highlight Bahrain as an investment destination for Japanese companies.