66 August 2012 BTM India In Bahrain On a High Note Halfway through his three-year term in Bahrain, there’s a sense of contentment about His Excellency Dr Mohan Kumar. The Indian ambassador to Bahrain is happy that he’s been able to fulfill the pledges he made when taking up assignment in the Kingdom. “I’d wanted frequent high level exchanges including political visits between the two sides, which we’ve managed to do,” he says. “We had sought to boost cultural exchange between Bahrainis and the Indian community here, and we’ve achieved that to an extent with a series of Irresistible India events in Bahrain.” The third undertaking and perhaps his most ambitious, is finally taking shape in the form of the new Indian Embassy building in Seef. “Our application for a new building has been made to the local municipal council. We’re now awaiting their clearance and hope to start work this year,” he notes. The Crown Prince’s high profile visit to New Delhi and Mumbai along with a business delegation in June this year has been hailed as a landmark event. The two sides signed agreements in sectors such as ICT and agreed to share information on taxes. “The Indian leadership thanked the Crown Prince for ensuring the safety and well-being of the Indian community in Bahrain. Peace and stability in Bahrain and the Gulf region is crucial to us; we cannot overemphasise the importance of the six million Indian nationals in the GCC region.” For Bahrain, the worst is already over, Dr Kumar believes. Bilateral trade between the two sides stood at US$1.8 billion in 2011, of which oil imports alone accounted for US$1 billion. A lot more can be accomplished on the trade and investment front, he believes, given the immense goodwill on both sides. “The Crown Prince told Indian business leaders not to be misled by the size of the Bahrain market. Investors in Bahrain are a mere 40 minutes away from Saudi Arabia, which accounts for about 50 per cent of the GCC market,” he says. Bahraini investors tend to get discouraged by India’s sheer size, but they’d do well to focus on a specific region rather than the entire Indian market, he feels. In its 66th year of independence, India is also facing some daunting economic challenges. Riddled by inflation and low industrial output, the Indian economy has grown at the slowest pace ever in the past nine years. To skeptics who are questioning the growth story this year, Dr Kumar says it is naive to expect uninterrupted growth over several decades in any economy. “The first generation of reforms is always easy; it’s now 20 years since the economy was opened up in 1991. The second round won’t be easy and since we are a democracy, decisions can be taken only after arriving at a political consensus,” he notes. On a broader level, India’s economy has been impacted by a combination of factors, not least of which is the global economic slowdown and the Eurozone crisis, from which the country cannot remain completely insulated, he believes. Simi Kamboj India and Bahrain are no strangers to each other; but 2012 may well be remembered as the year when relations touched new highs. indiaindependence H.E. Dr Mohan Kumar xxxxx The second round of reforms won’t be easy since decisions can be taken only after arriving at a political consensus
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==