Bahrain, Pearl in the Gulf

The Kingdom of Bahrain is located in the center of the Gulf region，west Asia，with a area of 770 square kilometers and a population of 1.19 million， 51% of which consist of foreign employees. As a gateway into local market， it enjoys a mature and sophisticated financial system， rich oil resources， and advantageous geographic location. In comparison with Dubai， which is only one hour flight away， Bahrain does not possess rich fame. However， it has begun to make effort to attract global attention by presenting low-cost business operation environment and premium investment policies.

Recently， Overseas Exhibitions magazine had an interview with Yun Jiang， China country representative of Beijing office of Bahrain Economic Development Board （“EDB Beijing”hereafter）. EDB Beijing was set up in 2013， with the mission to assist the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to promote Bahrain to Chinese investors and businesses， and to play a coordination role for the successful running of sino-Bahrain business programs.

As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council （GCC） countries， Bahrain is a perfect gateway to the local market of 1，500 trillion dollars. The country targets itself as an emerging exhibition destination.

In recent years， Bahrain has hosted several world-class exhibitions and events， including Bahrain F1 Grand Prix， Bahrain Air Show. It has also attracted exhibition organizers from other countries like the UK and Singapore. In 2013， there were 95 exhibitions in the country， receiving 3，671 exhibitors， rising 16% than the previous year. Bahrain now has an exhibition center of 16，000 square meters with state-of-the-art facilities， which will be expanded according to the exhibition market capacity. An exhibition city called Expo@bahrain is also under construction.Once completed， it will generate a direct annual economic income of 300 million dollars with an area of 145，000 square meters.

In January 2014， the 3rd Bahrain Air Show attracted about 100 exhibitors from 35 countries and concluded with a turnover of 3 billion dollars， a fourfold of 2013. It was the first time that Chinese companies participated in the Show， but Chinese exhibitors have been exhibiting in exhibitions in traditional sectors like the Bahrain International Garden Show， while Bahrain companies prefer governmental exhibitions like the China Import and Export Fiar for purchasing purposes.