Thailand and Bahrain on April 19 agreed to establish a distribution center in the Gulf nation to boost Thai trade with Middle East markets and support food security of Arab countries.
The agreement was made during an official visit by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Thailand, who was leading a delegation of businesspeople from his country. The two countries agreed that they would allow private enterprises to operate the distribution center. Bahrain will initially invest about $40 million, while Thailand is still considering how much it will contribute.
Bahrain is seen as a springboard for Thai exports to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East. Potential businesses for Thais are spas, hotels, medical and healthcare, jewellery, construction, foods, farming, as well as poultry and halal food export. In turn, Bahrain sees Thailand as a trade gateway to other ASEAN countries.
Thailand’s Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said that after the slowdown in Thai shipments to traditional markets, penetrating other potential markets including Bahrain and elsewhere in the Middle East that have high spending power would ensure strong export growth. He said two-way trade between Thailand and Bahrain had strong potential to increase in the coming years, thanks to the closer relationship between the Thai and Bahraini governments and their private sectors.
In 2012, bilateral trade between Thailand and Bahrain stood at $429 million, up 44 per cent from 2011.