Trade between Bahrain and India tops $750mln

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BILATERAL trade between Bahrain and India has reached between $750 million and $800m since the start of the year, based on preliminary data of the past few months – and there is an increased interest from both sides to boost the commercial ties further.

Revealing this, new Indian Ambassador Vinod Jacob said the historic ties between the two nations continue to be strong, with both looking to explore new opportunities in different sectors.

In his first interview since he assumed office in August, he spoke about trade ties, plans to promote tourism, labour issues and community outreach programmes.

“The emphasis on trade is a reflection of the strength of the bilateral partnership between India and Bahrain, and for over centuries, we have had this strong engagement in the commercial sphere between the two nations,” he told the GDN yesterday.

“If you look at the trade (figures) last year, it reached $1.6 billion, which, I would say, is a little bit of an abnormal figure.

“This was largely due to the response to pent-up demand during the Covid-19 lockdown period, and the restrictions lifted thereafter due to which trading took place at very high levels.

“I expect this year to see a sort of correction, and the data shows that in the past few months since the start of the year between $750m to $800m of bilateral trade has taken place.”

Mr Jacob explained that in 2005 the India-Bahrain bilateral trade was worth $575m.

He added that he expected the trade to reach an estimated $1.3bn during the financial year with both sides stepping up bilateral engagement.

Bahrain’s imports from India include rice, boneless meat, shrimp, sugar, fresh fruit and vegetables, machinery and engineering goods, medicines, jewellery and polymers.

Meanwhile, its exports to India include urea, methanol, mineral fuel, mineral oils and products, iron ore, aluminium, copper and bridge sections.

“Cumulative Indian investment in Bahrain was $1.4bn between April 2000 and June this year, while Bahraini investments are slowly increasing and as of today it stands at $185m worth of foreign direct investment in India,” said Mr Jacob.

During a high-level Bahrain delegation visit to India in March backed by the Bahrain Economic Development Board, it was announced that two leading India-based companies, Aerolam Middle East and Titan Company Limited (Titan), would launch their operations in Bahrain with a total investment of approximately $45m.

The envoy also pointed out that Bahrain-based Investcorp, a leading alternative investment manager, had inaugurated its office in Mumbai in 2019.

Mr Jacob has been a diplomat for more than two decades, and his last posting was as the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Sri Lanka. He has also tackled India’s bilateral relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

When asked for an update on the introduction of RuPay card and India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the envoy said discussions continue with relevant stakeholders.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to Bahrain in 2019 first announced the launch of the RuPay scheme following the signing of an agreement.

RuPay, which is the Indian payment network, allows Indians to use the card abroad, and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced last week that the scheme would be operational in the UAE by mid-next year.

The GDN previously reported that RuPay was set for wide acceptance at ATMs and point of sale (PoS) terminals across Bahrain under a new collaboration between NPCI International Payments (NIPL) and Benefit.

“India is keen to promote the ease of digital payments and this is a priority to even reach the rest of the international community,” said Mr Jacob.

“Talks started between the two sides but there were interruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We hope to pick up the pieces very soon and make substantial progress.”

On the potential GCC-India Free Trade Agreement, the diplomat added that similar agreements were signed with Sri Lanka, while trade agreements were inked with the UAE and Australia.

“There are efforts to have an FTA between the GCC and India, and discussions have been going on for a few years.

“I am hopeful that now we have gone over the Covid-19 challenges and restrictions there will be space or opportunity opening up for the two sides to sit and discuss.”

“I expect the process to be interesting.”