With deep economic, strategic and cultural ties dating more than 5,000 years, Bahrain and India are moving into the future together, with bilateral trade moving towards $2 billion.
While ancient Bahraini traders are believed to have carried out a flourishing trade of pearls with spices from India, today, the two countries work together in a variety of sectors.
Indian exports to Bahrain in 2023-24 were valued at approximately $900 million and India imported goods worth $829m, representing a near balanced trade of $1.73 billion.
India exports goods and services including agricultural products like rice, meat, shrimp, sugar, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as polymers, machinery and engineering goods, medicine, jewellery, automobiles and floating structures and smartphones to Bahrain.
In the last year, India exported rice worth $67.68m and frozen boneless meat of bovine animals worth $22m to Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Bahraini exports include urea, methanol, ammonia, aluminium and its products, mineral fuel, mineral oils and products, iron ore, and copper and bridge sections.
Relative prosperity and a high standard of living in Bahrain have boosted global imports of goods and services, including from India.
According to the embassy, the Bahraini government’s policy of industrial diversification has also played an important role in enhancing economic co-operation between the two countries.
In 2022-23, the trade volume between the two registered at $1.98 billion, according to the Indian Embassy.
During a high-level Bahrain delegation visit to India last year, 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.
In addition, Bahrain-based Investcorp, a leading alternative investment manager, inaugurated its office in Mumbai in 2019.
The two countries are also looking to further integrate financial ties with the launch of the Indian payment network RuPay, which is set for wide acceptance at ATMs and point of sale terminals across Bahrain under a new collaboration between NPCI International Payments and Benefit, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it during his state visit to Bahrain in 2019.
Discussions continue on a wider GCC-India Free Trade Agreement, which would leverage Bahrain’s longstanding ties with India for a wider relationship with the region.
Top medical companies like KIMSHEALTH have also been further promoting medical tourism between India and Bahrain, leveraging the group’s clinical excellence, quality of service and extensive network in India and the GCC.
Furthermore, India, as the world’s fourth largest refiner, and Bahrain, which is upgrading its Sitra refinery, were identified as having significant mutual opportunities in the oil and gas sector at the World Economic Forum’s 2024 annual meeting in Davos.
The two sides discussed potential joint ventures, investments and trade agreements.
On the cultural front, the 200-year-old Hindu temple in the Old Manama Suq stands as a testament to the vibrant Indian community and commitment to peaceful coexistence the two countries have shared.
The Shree Krishna Temple is undergoing a BD2m ($5m) upgrade and multi-use transformation, which will include two impressive state-of-the-art halls, three meditation areas, offices, a knowledge centre and a museum, in a three-storey structure. The Thattai Hindu Merchants Community and the Thattai Hindu Community are working together with community stakeholders to bring the special project to life.
Bahrain has also become a preferred fairy tale wedding destination for Indian families, with its top-class hospitality and spectacular venues.
Fourteen international weddings took place in Bahrain in the first quarter of 2023, and since 2017, the kingdom has hosted more than 60 such weddings, attracting more than 20,000 guests from around the world with an average of 370 people attending each wedding.
As the two countries step together into the future, they have announced a commitment to deepen existing ties and collaborate on food security, space, technology, energy, defence and maritime trade.
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