Bahrain is ready to enter into a new era of streamlined trade.

The kingdom, following the signing of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation in December 2013 in Bali, is preparing to enter into a new trade bracket, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The Industry and Commerce Ministry, under the patronage of its minister Dr Hassan Fakhro, and in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hosted a conference bringing together all trade involved sectors, both public and private, to discuss the process as well as the progress.

The two-day conference on Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA): Self Assessment, Needs, and Potential for Bahrain, that began yesterday brought together trade entities, including the Industry and Commerce Ministry, Custom Affairs, WTO, UNDP, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry and other main importers.

The conference is being held at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain.

Dr Fakhro, in his speech, stressed the importance of the agreement because it will achieve significant competitive advantages to Bahrain in developing its exports of goods and services, as well as its logistics and productive integration at the regional and international level.

“Bahrain's record for the implementation of WTO agreements and rules was praised at our trade policy review sessions in 2000, in 2007 and in 2014,” the minister added.

“Therefore, we are hopeful that the proper implementation of the (TFA) at bilateral, regional, and international levels will contribute to attaining of the trade and development objectives of the Economic Vision 2030.

“It would also help achieve the projected socio-economic growth and Bahraini knowledge-based economy targets.”

The minister pointed that the present King Fahad Causeway connection with Saudi Arabia and the additional new causeways with Qatar and Saudi Arabia would enhance connectivity and the expansion of Bahraini regional trade in goods and services.

“The linkage between all these logistic infrastructures and the GCC rail network, hopefully to be operational in 2018, could also boost Bahrain's supply chain logistics potential and its prospective distribution, networking and industrial opportunities,” he added.

“It's a comprehensive engagement of a lot of departments between the private sector and the public sector,” said Customs Affairs president Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

“You have to pull everybody to the same level to be successful in trade facilitation.

“You cannot do it as one single entity or government agency.”

WTO representative Alejandro Gamboa Alder said that the main points that need to be covered were increased co-operation as well as co-ordination between government entities, improvement of transparency and a simplification of the process in regard to the number of document required for trade.

Shaikh Mohammed explained that the process did not only have to be implemented but it would have to be evaluated by the WTO too. Bahrain is among the list of countries with the best practices.

“The people who want to export to our country have to know what they have to do and we have to stick to a written and transparent path of action so that everybody knows it and so it can be published on the website and distributed.

“This will in fact increase trade - Bahrain is very focused on trade and they keep ratifying the laws to increase trade.

“Trade is the most important thing for Bahrain - we have to be like a magnet to bring business to the kingdom.

“It is a successful story that you have to individually prove to yourself, then the WTO will make an assessment of each and every country,' he said.

“We have to do our homework now - to be assessed by the WTO as one of the countries with the best practices - it is no small feat,” he added.

Dr Fakhro explained that the agreement needed to be studied by all the parties involved but was confident that Bahrain would prove itself.

“These things don't move in a supersonic manner, they move bit by bit and you have to get all your homework done and move in the right direction,” said Dr Fakhro.

“Hopefully by the middle of next year, it will be ready,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service