Hassan Al -Sitry
- 40 agreements to encourage and protect investment concluded by Bahrain with many countries
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy revealed that the volume of non -oil trade exchange between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Korea amounted to (172.5) million dinars during the year 2024.
The “Finance” indicated that the exports of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Republic of Korea amounted to about (100.7) million dinars, while imports from the Republic of Korea amounted to about (71.8) million dinars during the same year.
The Ministry pointed out that the volume of non -oil trade exchange between the two countries amounted to (60) million Bahraini dinars in 2022 and 2023 and rose to (172.5) million Bahraini dinars in 2024, and it is expected that the investment activity will witness more growth after the signing of the agreement, thanks to the economic environment that attracts capital.
In a related context, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee approved a draft law to ratify an agreement to encourage and protect investment between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the Republic of Korea, accompanying Decree No. (9) of 2025.
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy indicated that the Kingdom of Bahrain has so far concluded (40) agreements to encourage and protect investment with many countries of the world.
She pointed out that the agreement with Korea aims to make the Kingdom of Bahrain the perfect choice to attract direct foreign investments in order to create promising opportunities for citizens, enhance economic growth, and achieve sustainable development.
She emphasized that it aims to provide an appropriate investment environment to intensify the investment activity by investors in both contracted parties, through, to encourage and protect the investments of citizens and companies of one of the two contracting parties in the region of the other contracting party, and provide the necessary guarantees to protect investments and freedom of transfer of capital, profits and other returns in a free currency that can be transferred to investors from The two contracting parties, and ensuring the investor compensation as a fair and immediate compensation for his investment in the event of confiscation of ownership for the public interest and that compensation be in accordance with the market value of investment, and the determination of the mechanisms for settling disputes that may arise between a party and an investor from the other contracting party or those that may arise between the two contracting parties, starting with a friendly solution and then resorting to local courts and international arbitration if necessary.
The Ministry stressed the importance of enhancing the principle of cooperation and participation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Korea, and the protection of investment between the two parties, and it was referred to that there is a previous agreement to be signed in 2012, and stated that the implementation of the agreement will not result in any additional obligations outside what the agreement stipulated, and the obligations are limited only in the field of implementing the agreement and organizational and facilitating operations for investment between the two parties, and will not result in financial burdens on The Kingdom of Bahrain if it is implemented. For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the level of diplomatic representation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Korea is the level of heads of missions, as Ambassador Saud Hassan Al -Nasf was appointed as the first ambassador to the Kingdom to the Republic of Korea on October 29, 2024 AD, and Ambassador Honanang Co is the head of the Republic of Korea’s mission to the Kingdom.
She indicated that there is no commercial attaché at the present time in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Republic of Korea, but there is a representative of the Economic Development Council in Seoul and he is Mr. Giot Kam, where investment issues between the two countries are under its competence.
As for the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it decided to agree to the draft law to ratify the aforementioned agreement, because the signing of such agreements contributes to encouraging foreign investments and enhancing its movement, and the agreement is in line with the directions of the Kingdom of Bahrain towards enhancing its economic position at the global level, given that the agreement does not give other contracting countries unjustified preferential privileges, or contradicts the principles of international investment.
According to the draft law, the ratification of an agreement to encourage and protect investment between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the Republic of Korea is part of the efforts made to enhance economic cooperation between the two contracting parties.
The agreement aims to create the appropriate conditions for intensifying the investment activity of the investors of each contracting party in the region of the other contracting party on the basis of the principle of equality and mutual benefit, which helps to stimulate individual commercial initiatives and increase prosperity in both countries.
