‘Palestine opens investment into real estate, ambassador in Bahrain

The strong and friendly relations between Palestine and the Kingdom of Bahrain and the continual support to Palestine at all levels were manifested in His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s message to the United Nations, expressing support and solidarity with the Palestinian government and its peoples, said the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Bahrain, Taha M Abdul-Qader.In the political arena, the warmth of Bahrain is evident in the support for the Palestinian cause -- calling for the establishment of an independent Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. President Abbas has called on the Arab League to adopt the Bahrain document as the framework for its move towards Palestinian nationhood.The warmth of the brotherly ties between the two nations will culminate in the upcoming Bahrain visit of President Mahmoud Abbas and hopefully a high level Bahrain delegation visit to Palestine, the ambassador said.The people to people relation is also very strong, as evidenced in the recent visit of a Bahraini delegation to Palestine and the invite placed with the Palestinians to visit this country. The visits now are between high-level officials from either side. Recently the Bahraini delegation visited Palestine."A special relation also exists between the two countries in the area of culture. Bahrain’s Minister for Culture, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, has helped cement the friendship and cordiality in the cultural elements by inviting Palestinian poets, musicians, artists, speakers to Bahrain through both the ministry of culture and the Shaikh Ebrahim centre," he added.The cultural ties between Bahrain and Palestine are very strong, the envoy added. The Ministry of Culture, invited poets such as Mahmoud Darwish and Samih Qasim, musical groups and other artistes to perform in Bahrain. All of them have spoken about a marked resemblance in the cultural ethos of the two peoples. The wavelengths of communications match. These can help in enhancing the people to people relation," he said.A protocol is also expected to be signed in another five days between the ministers of municipalities of both nations. The protocol will enable exchange of expertise and information on municipal laws and the setting up of municipalities.The same also applies for the Ministry of Education, which is playing an important role in coordination with the embassy to contribute to the Palestinian educational system and to help individual Palestinian students."Both the leadership and the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, through their large hearted support to the Palestinian community in Bahrain has made them feel like they are at home and helped remove the anguish of the events that unfold back home. The Palestinians are able to work and earn in this nation and also able to contribute to Bahrain , mainly in education," he added.Addressing the trade relations between the two countries, the ambassador said, Palestine is rich in many natural resources and agriculture. Two Bahraini business delegations, one comprising men and the other women were already hosted by Palestine. They visited the industrial sector – including the furniture and leather --and the famed stone quarries of Palestine, he added. The delegations were impressed with the competitive pricing and high quality of these commodities. They also showed interest in Palestinian food and agriculture sector, as also import of Palestinian fruits and vegetables.Palestine also has a rich floriculture market. "The strengths apart, our inability to enter the global market with success lies in our inability to control our own trade routes. The Israeli control of the borders and rampant checks carried out by them subject the consignments to delayed shipment and arrival at export destination. Our efforts now are to establish the seed for furthering trade and commerce by opening our industries for others to see so they are aware of what we have," Abdul-Qader added."In keeping with such strong support, we look to Bahraini investments in Palestinian real estate market. The West Bank, according to the Oslo Accord, is divided into A, B, C. Accordingly the towns in A are completely under the Palestinian Authority. Investors can build or invest here," he told the Bahrain News Agency in an exclusive interview.The ambassador said that as a confidence building measure in investing in Palestine, groups of investors would be taken on a tour of the country. "Such tours give firsthand experience of the potentials and the risks. They can then decide. Most of them are surprised at the potentials. In Area B we have complete control with Israeli security and it is possible to look at investment here as well," he added.The Qataris and Palestinian investors, he said, are building the $400 million Rawabi city in Area A. Such investments could help Palestinian economy grow. The EU, Japan and the US are engaged in building infrastructure in Palestine, he added. "These investments are a comfort level for other potential investments to enter Palestine. Palestine offers foreign participation in the investment building of that nation, he said.Bahrain can play a vital role in pumping in foreign direct investment into Palestine. The impediment here is that the border control is with Israel. Permission for investor visits has to be given by them – which can be time consuming at times. The delay in document processing also affects imports into Palestinian cities such as Ramallah or Nablus or Jerusalem, said the envoy.In an effort to ensure timely dispatch and arrival of export and import consignment, President Mahmoud Abbas has emphasized that the control of Palestinian ports and borders as a condition for any fruitful negotiations. "We cannot live with foreign control on our ports and borders. The president has said that Israeli forces monitoring our borders does not benefit us. We are for the borders being monitored by American, European or UN forces with Palestinian monitors," he added. The envoy said that Israeli soldiers being part of the occupation cannot benefit Palestine.Doors of the embassy of Palestine in Bahrain are open to anybody willing to invest in Palestine. Investors raise the morale of Palestinians. "When they see investors, they know the future is not bleak, because there are people coming into the country. I can personally help any investor reach Palestine and experience firsthand the welcoming hospitality that Palestinians are known for," the ambassador said.