Arab News Japan

TOKYO: 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 on Thursday.

The agreement was signed by Yusuf Abdulla Humood, Bahrain’s Undersecretary for Financial Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, and Taro Honda, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.

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. 

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “The investment environment in Bahrain is relatively favorable, and Japanese companies are already active in sectors such as manufacturing, finance and trade. Moreover, further investment in Bahrain by Japanese companies is expected, including large-scale projects, and the importance of providing assistance to these companies is going on. Through this Agreement, further improvement of the investment environment in Bahrain is expected, which will contribute to building closer economic relations between Japan and Bahrain.”

The agreement must be confirmed by the government of each country before becoming effective.