| Official Name : | Kingdom of Bahrain [Proclaimed on Feb 14, 2002] | | Location : | Archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia. | | Area : | Approx. 740 Sq. Kms.(land area increasing with reclamation). | | Coastline | 161 km. | | Climate : | Mild pleasant winters; hot and very humid summers ( April- October). | | Time : | GMT + 3 hours (i.e. 2-1/2 hours behind IST) | | Currency: | Bahraini Dinar (BD) - convertible | | Exchange rate : | Bahraini Dinar (BD) 1 = $2.65 = Rs.166 approx. (March 2014) | | Population : | 1.3 Million (2011 - EIU Estimates) | | Foreigners : | 666,000 approx. | | Indians: | Approximately 350,000 out of 666,000 foreigners | | Religion : | Islam | | Languages : | Arabic, English | | Capital : | Manama | | Coordinates : | Kingdom of Bahrain is an island group located off the central southern shores of the Arabian Gulf between latitude 25° 32’ and 26° 20’ North and longitude 050° 20’ and 050°50’ East | | Independence : | 15 August, 1971 (from UK). | | National Day : | 16 December(1971); date of independence from British protection | | | | | Economic Indicators : | | | GDP* | US$ 32.8 billion (2013) | | Growth rate* | 3.6 % (2014) | | Exports* | $ 22.85 billion (2012) | | Imports* | $ 14.71 billion (2012) | | Foreign Exchange reserves* : excl. gold | $ 4.23 billion (2011) | | Total External Debt* : | $ 16.70 billion (2012) | | Rate of Inflation* : | 3.3% (June 2013) | | | | | Oil* | Total reserves- 125 million bbl (2007 estimates) | | | - Oil production – 33,000 barrels per day including 150,000 barrels per day from Abu Safa oilfield shared with Saudi Arabia.
| | Natural Gas Reserves* | 3.25 trillion cubic feet (2007 estimates) | | (*Source : Economic Intelligence Unit Estimates) | | Economy | Essentially private sector oriented. Oil refining/ production, water & electricity, etc. wholly owned by Government. Government holding shares in aluminium and several other industrial companies. Banking and financial sector contributes approximately 24% of the GDP. | | Natural Resources | Oil, Natural Gas, Fish and limited agriculture. | | Industries | Petroleum production and refining, aluminium, cement, cable manufacturing, air conditioner assembly, pre-fabricated housing construction, gas liquefying propane and butane, dry dock, petrochemicals, urea, ship repair yard, chemicals (Ammonia, sulphuric acid, methanol) garments, marble etc. | | Agricultural products | Dates - in limited quantities for domestic consumption,Vegetable and fruits including figs, tomatoes, lettuce, guavas, okra, egg plant, garlic, pumpkin and watermelons. | Principal five export destinations (Non-oil – 2013)
(i) Saudi Arabia (ii) UAE (iii) Qatar (iv) USA (v) India | Principal five import sources (Non-oil – 2013)
(i) Saudi Arabia (ii) UAE (iii) China (iv) Australia (v) Japan | Principal five import commodities of Bahrain (Dec. 2014) - Mineral Products
- Aluminium
- Iron and Steel
- Miscellaneous Goods
- Copper and Articles
| Principal five export commodities of Bahrain (Dec. 2014) - Mineral Products
- Inorganic Chemicals
- Cereals
- Plastic and Articles
- Meat and Edible oil.
| | Source : MOC | | | | Air links | There are convenient air connections between India and Bahrain. Air India Express, Air India, Jet Airways and Gulf Air have direct connections to Indian destinations. | | Telecommunications | Excellent international and external telecommunications. Direct dialing facility for all gulf countries, UK, USA, etc. Direct telephone link has also been introduced between Bahrain and most cities/towns in India on IDD. | | Hotels | Sheraton, Diplomat, Holiday Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Regency, Gulf Hotel, Crowne Plaza etc. | | | | The Embassy welcomes the Indian business visitors to Bahrain and is happy to facilitate their visit as part of the top priority it attaches to India’s exports to this region. The presence of a large Indian community of nearly 350,000 in Bahrain, has a positive impact on growth in demand for Indian products and services and acts as a catalyst in India’s overall trade with Bahrain. The country is presently experiencing an economic boom particularly in the construction industry due to greater stress being given on infra-structure development and the ongoing privatization process initiated by the Government.
While planning a visit to Bahrain, the visitors could contact the Embassy for a list of local importers, suitability of dates for visit, list of hotels and other information. The exporters should give a brief profile of their companies such as size, manufacturing capacity, export experience, specialization of products etc. They would find it worthwhile visiting the Embassy at the beginning and at the end of their visit. While leaving Bahrain, the exporters may give the Embassy a list of their local importers or agents.
Visitors can leave their catalogues at the Commercial Section of the Embassy which is frequented by local importers. Before visiting Bahrain, it would be worthwhile to consider including a few other countries in the region in the travel plan. Our exports to this region as a whole, have been steadily increasing.
Visa
Indian visitors must possess Business or Visit Visa for Bahrain. Bahraini Embassy is located at A -4, Palam Marg, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, New Delhi 110 057. (Tel No. 011 2615 4151 to 54, Fax No 011 - 2614 6731 ). Bahrain has a Consulate in Mumbai. The address is : Consulate General of Bahrain, 53, Maker Towers ‘F’, 5th Floor, Cuffe Parade, Colaba, Mumbai – 400 005. Tel : 009122-22185856 / 22185857 / 22185858, Fax : 009122-22188817, E-mail : brn_consulate[at]hotmail.com
Business and visit visas to Bahrain can also be arranged by most hotels in Bahrain where the visitor intends to stay, provided specific request, along with full passport particulars, is sent to the hotels sufficiently in advance.
Shopping Centres : Visit to some of the ‘shopping centers’ and ‘hyper markets’ in Bahrain is recommended as this will give a fair idea of the local price, fashions and trends in consumption. The shopping centers are open, on all days from 9.00 AM to 10.00 PM. Some of the popular Malls worth visiting are : - Lulu Hypermarket, Manama, Tel : 17553555
- Geant Hyper Market, Manama, Tel : 17558181
- Seef Mall, Tel No. 17581111
- Dana Mall, Tel No. 17558500
- Megamart, Manama, Tel : 17250334 / 17250644
- GOSI Commercial Complex, Tel No. 17291551
- SITRA Mall , Tel No. 17250334 / 17826884
- Carrefour Hypermarket, Tel: 17172222
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