Mubasher: The first day of the Gateway Gulf 2024 investment event, which kicked off in Manama on 3 November, brought together 250 distinguished attendees of government ministers and business leaders from around the world.
Resilience, innovation, and future-ready strategies took centre stage for adapting to a fast-evolving economic landscape.
The second edition of the two-day forum is hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) and held under the theme of ‘Investing for Resilience in a Fast-Changing Global Reality’.
Opening remarks were delivered by Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa AlKhalifa, Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and National Economy, where he stated that the forum has an objective of being a vital hub for more cooperation and partnerships in the Gulf.
Besides Shaikh Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih attended the opening session alongside Lord Gerry Grimstone, Former UK Minister for Investment at the Departments for International Trade and Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. The officials highlighted how growing regional integration is necessary in addition to the importance of technological innovation to leverage opportunities in the global economy while mitigating current and future risks.
Panellists at the ‘Adapting to a Shifting Global Trade Landscape’ discussion of navigating a rapidly shifting global economy underscored the need to modernise infrastructure and advance digitisation efforts to minimise the bureaucracy related to global trade.
They further highlighted the need to diversify trade routes and drive partnerships to overcome potential disruption to global supply chains.
On the first day of Gateway Gulf 2024, there was also the fireside chat under the theme ‘Towards a Future-Ready Workforce’ which featured Noor bint Ali AlKhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development and Chief Executive of Bahrain EDB. AlKhulaif shed light on the importance of public and private partnerships for its efforts, in addition to the criticality of investing in upskilling for a digitised economy and the advantages of collaboration across the GCC in order to enable talent mobility.
Gateway Gulf forum reinforces Bahrain’s position as a leading investment destination and cements the GCC’s pivotal role in the global economy. Meanwhile during the event, the listed leading company Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) announced with Daiki Aluminium Industry Company the reinforcement of their strategic partnership by the launch of a joint venture (JV).
