MANAMA, JUNE 25, (BNA) A WORKSHOP TITLED EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING: PROMOTION, INVESTMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS AND ORGANIZED BY THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD) KICKED OFF TODAY AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL TOMORROW.
OVER 60 PARTICIPANTS FROM GCC AND ARAB COUNTRIES, THE US, JAPAN, YEMEN, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, MOROCCO AND EGYPT ARE TAKING PART IN THE WORKSHOP. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD'S (EDB) CHIEF EXECUTIVE SHAIKH MOHAMMED BIN ISA AL KHALIFA ANNOUNCED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORKSHOP THE OPENING OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CENTRE IN BAHRAIN, TO BE SUBSIDIARY TO THE PARIS-BASED OECD. THE CENTRE, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ARAB WORLD, WILL BE CONDUCTING ADVANCED RESEARCHES AND DISTRIBUTING BOOKLETS THAT PROMOTE OECD'S ACTIVITIES AND PRINCIPLES , SHAIKH MOHAMMED SAID. BAHRAIN HAS A SPECIAL INTEREST IN THE OECD'S ENDEAVOURS TO HELP GOVERNMENTS TACKLE THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC AND GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW GLOBALIZED ECONOMY, SHAIKH MOHAMMED EXPLAINED. THE CENTRE WILL PROVIDE INVESTMENT FACILITIES TO 18 COUNTRIES IN THE REGION AND ENTRUST BAHRAIN WITH DEVELOPING AND COORDINATING THE OECD'S INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES, HE NOTED. ON HIS PART, THE ADVISOR TO THE SWISS MINISTER OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS DELIVERED A SPEECH IN WHICH HE PRESENTED THE CENTRE'S PROGRAMME AND STEPS TO BOOST INVESTMENT AS WELL AS ITS BENEFITS ON BAHRAIN AND THE REGION. THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CENTRE, WHICH OPENED IN BAHRAIN TODAY, WILL SERVE AS A LINKING RING FOR ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED WITH INVESTMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA IN ASSOCIATION WITH OECD MAIN HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS, EDB DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE ZAKARIYA HIJRIS SAID. THE CENTRE WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NETWORK AMONG REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL SERVE AS A PRINCIPAL CENTRE FOR THE INVESTMENT PROGRAMME, HE ADDED. ESTABLISHING SUCH A CENTRE IN BAHRAIN, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL ONE, WILL INVOLVE BAHRAIN IN AN ECONOMIC AND INVESTMENT COMPETITION THANKS TO THE KINGDOM'S GOOD INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION AND WELL-DEVELOPED INFRASTRUCTURE, HIJRIS NOTED. BAHRAIN MANAGED TO BOOK A PLACE AMONG OTHER COUNTRIES IN TERMS OF ITS CAPABILITY TO SPUR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER OECD MEMBER STATES TO GIVE SPECIALIZED SESSIONS IN THIS REGARD, HE REVEALED. HE ALSO PRAISED OECD FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT THROUGH PROVIDING FREE EXPERTS TO WOO INVESTMENTS ALONG WITH A LARGE LIBRARY WITH ECONOMIC RESEARCHES AND STUDIES. SETTING UP SUCH A CENTRE IN BAHRAIN IS THE RESULT OF THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORMS LED BY HIS MAJESTY KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA TO PUT BAHRAIN ON THE MAP OF WORLD INVESTMENTS. AOQ. 25-JUN-2007 17:37