Country Profile
From The Report: Bahrain 2020
View in Online Reader

In 1932 Bahrain pioneered oil production in the Middle East, and in doing so established the region’s initial framework for the petroleum industry. The new resource enabled Bahrain to modernise its economy by moving beyond traditional industries such as pearl diving and fishing. Today, the country’s national plan, Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, aims to enhance private sector growth as well as continue government investment in infrastructure, affordable housing, human resource development and digital transformation. The kingdom maintains a developed industrial sector and hosts the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter. This chapter contains a viewpoint from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Strong foundation: Development plans across sectors move the country closer to its goal of diversifying the economy
OBG
plus

For much of its history, Bahrain was the name for the eastern coast of Arabia. Bahrain means “two seas” in Arabic, and although it is unclear which two seas the name refers to, it has recently come to identify the 33 natural islands of the Awal archipelago. History The first notable inhabitants of the region were the Dilmun civilisation approximately 6000 years ago, but throughout history Bahrain’s geographically strategic location has attracted the attention of numerous empires,…

Viewpoint

Eye on the future: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on modernisation and the ongoing transition to a knowledge-based economy
OBG
plus

Viewpoint:King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Our world today is witnessing rapid changes and facing pressing challenges that require everyone to be flexible and thoughtful in how we move forward in order to ensure the continued progress of humanity. For our part, we have targeted and realised many development-related achievements. Our country is looking to the future with great optimism as we take further strides towards the establishment of a modernised and civilised state that keeps pace with…