84 August 2018 www.bahrainthismonth.com marketplacebusinessbites According to the 2017 Annual Report released by the Bahrain Tender Board, the total percentage of opened tenders was up by 9.2 per cent when compared with the previous year. The value of the tenders was 156 per cent higher than that of 2016. The top five purchasing authorities with the highest tender values were Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), Gulf Air, Electricity and Water Authority, Ministry of Housing and Tatweer Petroleum. HE Hayam Al Awadhi, secretary general of the Tender Board, praised its success saying: “We are very proud of what we have been able to achieve in the past 12 months and plan to continue on our path forward with more enhancements that tie directly back to our vision. We plan to continue improving the transparency and efficiency of the Kingdom’s Government procurement practices in ways that are sure to encourage more suppliers and contractors to engage with Bahrain.” During a high-level meeting, Bahrain and the UAE discussed ways of accelerating knowledge transfer and exchange of expertise in areas of scientific research. According to Emirates News Agency, a pledge for closer working came at a meeting between HH Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Dr Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Under-Secretary for International Affairs at Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies. The participants talked about the centre’s main activities and its efforts in promoting scientific research. Organised at the British Parliament by former Pakistani Ambassador and Diplomat Business Club president, Javed Malik, the Bahrain Opportunities Forum was successful in accurately portraying Bahrain as a regional hub of business and trade. Dignitaries and others in attendance saw a showcase of Bahrain’s business climate, trade and investment opportunities which intrigued participants regarding all Bahrain has to offer. Being a hub of trade and gateway to the rest of the Gulf, the benefits of trading and business opportunities in the Gulf were highlighted. The former ambassador says: “Under the visionary leadership of His Majesty King Hamad, Bahrain has positioned itself as an inclusive and vibrant society that welcomes and provides opportunities to everyone.” Bahrain Opportunities Forum – A Success Tender Victories Furthering Scientific Research A campaign has been launched to set up a ‘space team’ to develop Bahrain’s space programme, one that plans to launch its first satellite within the next two years, according to Bahrain News Agency. Kamal bin Ahmad, who heads the National Space Science Agency (NSSA) asserts that: “The Kingdom is planning to optimise the use of space sciences within five years to serve national development and keep abreast of global strides.” The campaign looks forward to applications from Bahraini nationals, with 10 chosen candidates, all under 35, due to be selected to undertake two years of training to be at the heart of the programme. Aim to Launch First Satellite Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) signed a joint venture partnership agreement with Dadabhai Travel, immediately after the bank’s relaunch of Al Thuraya Privilege Banking Services, which offers unique, new features to its existing products and services. The signing ceremony was attended by Dalal AlQais, general manager of retail banking for BisB, and Shahnaz Al Qaseer, chief operating officer of Dadabhai Travel, as well as a number of officials from both parties. BisB is positive about special travel-associated deals for Al Thuraya account holders while Dadabhai Travel claims it will be able to offer a multitude of services in partnering with the leading provider of Sharia-compliant integrated financial solutions. BisB Partners with Dadabhai Travel
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==