Bahrain: A Renewed focus on bilateral trade will be at top of the list of priorities for Britain’s new “commercial ambassador” to Bahrain.
British Ambassador Simon Martin, who replaced former envoy to the country Iain Lindsay this summer, told the GDN that he was looking forward to building on his background in economics during his time here.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a special reception held in his honour by the Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF).
“There is so much that is important going on between Britain and Bahrain,” he said.
“There’s a great deal of expectation, so I feel that it is both a privilege and responsibility that I
take on gladly.
“There is an awful lot for us to build on, but there is so much that is instinctively good between Britain and Bahrain, so much that we’re doing together and the 200th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate and promote that.”
Next year is the bi-centenary of the beginning of friendly relations between the UK and Bahrain – marking 200 years since the signing of the first treaty between the two countries.
“It’s my firm belief that both of us benefit equally, and that all Bahraini people benefit from Britain’s role here and vice versa,” said Mr Martin.
“It’s with great enthusiasm and confidence that I take on this job.
“I hope you’ll find me a commercial ambassador.
“I’m an economist and spent some time working in the private sector and have been involved in the trade side of diplomacy for most of my life overseas.
“So, you’ll find me very open to the prospect of improving our relationship in the economic field as well as all the others.”
The new envoy said he was focused on finding ways to build on already close commercial ties between Britain and Bahrain, which he described as having “an incredible depth and breadth”.
“Many Bahrainis know Britain well and are very comfortable doing business with British companies, similarly there are hundreds of British companies based in Bahrain and thousands of British people who live here,” he said.
“It’s that familiarity and mixed understanding that creates many opportunities for investment and for trade.
“During the course of next year, we’re going to have a number of themed parts of the programme that are celebrating the business, cultural, defence and education links.
“We hope to use that as a way of promoting even more.”
Meanwhile, BBBF chairman Khalid Al Zayani said that he was looking forward to working with Mr Martin to improve business relations.
“I know that the ambassador used to work for Prince Charles, so I was happy to hear he was coming to Bahrain because he has a good understanding of the relationship between Bahrain and Britain,” he said.
“In 2016, we have the 200 anniversary of relations between Bahrain and Britain.
“I want people to understand the importance of this relationship that made us distinguished in the Middle East and gave us an understanding of democracy, municipalities, corporations.
“We learnt it years before the rest of the region, so we were forerunners in that regard.”
To highlight these close ties, Mr Al Zayani spoke of the Bahrain-based company Midal Cables, of which he is chairman.
“We are climbing ever higher in terms of exports to Britain,” he said.
“We export a lot of petrochemical products and Midal Cables is replacing high-tension cables across Britain.
“There was high international competition, but we managed to get the tender to change all the high-tension electricity cables across Britain.
“This is huge work, which we started at the beginning of the year.
“It shows that Bahraini products are high quality, international products and overcome competition from American, British, German and French companies.
“Bahrain has a small market, so businesses have to have imagination and learn how to work the international market.”
The GDN previously reported that last year, goods and services worth £155.9 million (BD90.6m) were exported to the UK from Bahrain, while £295.5m (BD171.8m) in imports were recorded.
laala@gdn.com.bh
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