Bahrain's Crown Prince leads India mission

A business delegation from Bahrain is set to arrive in India this week as part of a two-city state visit led by Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). The visit aims to strengthen bilateral trade relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India. The delegation will visit Mumbai and Delhi on May 30/31 and will see the delegation engage in high level talks with Indian officials and private sector leaders. Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and acting chief executive of the EDB, said: "Bahrain currently hosts more than 120 Indian firms, and Indian nationals are the largest expatriate community in Bahrain. "As Indian firms continue to expand internationally, Bahrain's low cost of doing business, highly skilled local workforce and access to the GCC market mean that it can provide an excellent location from which these firms can access the fast-growing Gulf market, which is worth over a trillion dollars." The talks will also include discussions on the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council and India. According to the International Monetary Fund, the total trade between India and Bahrain in 2011 was $1.7bn. There are more than 200,000 Indian residents in Bahrain while there are a number of Indian companies with regional headquarters and branches registered in Bahrain including Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, JBF Industries, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Boroda and State Bank of India. From Arabian Business