‘I Am Here to Promote Bahraini-Saudi Ties’

JEDDAH, 3 January 2008 — Bahrain has opened a consulate on the Corniche near the Jeddah Hilton. “The opening coincided with my assuming charge two months ago,” Consul General Hamad Ali A. Al-Binkhalil told Arab News.

The opening was well-timed as Bahrain had to make arrangements for its Haj pilgrims. “We had about 16,000 Bahrainis performing the annual pilgrimage,” Al-Binkhalil said, adding that many others had come through Bahrain on Gulf Air flights.

“Gulf Air handled the Haj traffic very well despite the complicated nature of operations, and all of its special flights were on schedule. The second phase of returning pilgrims is also going smoothly,” Al-Binkhalil said.

“My main objective is to promote bilateral ties that are brotherly and strong,” he said, adding that Bahraini businessmen are looking forward to investment opportunities in the Kingdom, especially in view of the King Abdullah Economic City and other new cities that are planned.

“The Kingdom’s new cities offer a wide scope for our businessmen and investors and to their counterparts elsewhere in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” he said. “We hope to see increasing cooperation among the six-member GCC countries,” he said referring to Tuesday’s development when the GCC, with a combined economy of $715 billion, announced the launch of a common market. The move is expected to draw more foreign investment to the region.

Tourism in Bahrain is also increasing, he said. Bahrain, which is linked to Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province by the King Fahd Causeway, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Middle East with over two million tourists every year. Most of the visitors are from Arab states but there is an increasing number of tourists from outside the region.

One major attraction, the Consul General pointed out, is the Bahrain Grand Prix. This year’s event is scheduled for April 4-6. The Bahrain National Museum is also a great attraction. It has a collection of artifacts from the country’s history dating back to the island’s first human inhabitants some 9,000 years ago.