Pakistan Bahrain Relations

By Dr. Syed Mehboob

Research Scholar, Analyst

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Pakistan and Bahrain enjoy close, friendly and strong relations based on mutual respect and cooperation. Both countries are tied with the knots of Islamic brotherhood and love and moving forward to further strengthening these brotherly ties to new heights.

Bahrain is a part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Bahrain was one of the first countries in the Gulf to discover oil and build a refinery. Bahrain has Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with United States of America and recently Pakistan signed a Free Trade Agreement ( FTA) with GCC countries and there is a need that Pakistanis to invest in Bahraini Industrial Zones and take advantage of Bahrain’s Free Trade Agreement with USA and try to re-export to USA to increase its export as desired by our care taker finance minister to increase Pakistani export up to US$ 100 billion.

Pakistan and Bahrain share a very longstanding and concrete relationship, marked with the absences of any bilateral contentious issues. They also have historic, cultural, social and religious commonalities with each other. Bahrain is currently home to 100,000 members of the Pakistani Diaspora. A significant portion of the Bahrain Police Force comprises of officers of Baloch origin. There are also many other Pakistanis serving in the Bahrain National Guard (BNG). As pointed out by the BNG Commander Lt. General Shaikh Mohammad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa “many senior defense forces personnel of Bahrain, holding key positions, are graduates from military institutes of Pakistan and regard the country as their second home” and that “defense cooperation and employment of Pakistani defense personnel will continue in the Bahrain Defense Forces. This provides a very high level of trust and goodwill between Bahrain and Pakistan. Over the recent years, bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bahrain have seen a surge in intensity. Bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Bahrain was first institutionalized in 1983 when the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Economic Committee (JEC) was founded. Bahrain’s arable land is only 2.1 percent of its total area out of which less than half is equipped with irrigation facilities. Therefore, Bahrain is highly reliant on imports to feed its population. On the other hand, Pakistan has much greater agrarian capacities. This an avenue for Bahraini agricultural companies to invest in Pakistan and in return export the crop produced. The Bahraini investments will increase the agricultural output of Pakistan as it will to lead to enhanced funding for research and development in the sector. This will contribute to keeping food inflation in Pakistan under control. It will also make Pakistan a more autarkic State. Bahrain’s proximity with Pakistan makes it cost efficient to import from. This explains the rationale behind the idea of food cooperation between Bahrain and Pakistan. Pakistan would welcome Bahraini investments in mega projects in the field of energy, downstream oil industry, port development, mining and minerals, infrastructure, banking and financial sectors. Pakistan would like Bahrain to increase its imports from Pakistan of high-quality Basmati rice, Halal meat products, poultry, textiles and clothing, sports goods, surgical instruments, carpets, marble and cutlery. There is a need to cooperate in the fields of energy, youth and sports, advancement of women, social works and human resource development, agriculture, marine resources, cattle breeding, poultry and fish-farming.” Pakistan also recognized Bahrain as an “ideal gateway to the GCC markets.

Pakistanis living in Bahrain are contributing to the stability and socio-economic development of Bahrain. Pakistan has a surplus of properly trained and certified skilled and semi-skilled manpower in various sectors including engineering, medical and education etc. The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and the Technical Education and Vocation Training Authority (TEVTA) of Pakistan are providing tailor-made courses to potential workers seeking jobs in the Gulf countries. This proves that assisting its people to gain employment in the Gulf is a key element in the public policy of the Government of Pakistan. The initiative of a Gulf centric skill development program of Pakistan seems to be influenced by the expectations of increasing remittances in mind.

There is a need to invite Bahraini investors to invest in Special Economic Zones’. There will be very profitable investment opportunities for Bahraini investors in the industrial parks being established under CPEC.

Bahrain is an Island country in west Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural Islands and an additional 33 artificial Islands centered on Bahrain Island which make up around eighty three percent of the country’s landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern Coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahad Causeway. Bahrain is the thirst smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

TRDAE WITH PAKISTAN

Dr. Syed Mehboob Senior Business and Economic Analyst 

During 2021 Pakistan exported US$ 61.9 million worth goods and services and imported US$ 292 million worth and trade volume was US$ 353.9 million.