Insider Media Limited

A Bahrain delegation led by Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa has met with West Midlands businesses to forge trade links. Shaikh Mohammed told Insider the delegation had secured some "strong leads" and hoped to create jobs across the region by entering trade agreements.

The delegation, which included 12 companies from Bahrain's private sector, held a series of presentations on Doing Business in the Region at Birmingham's ICC.

Led by chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, Shaikh Mohammed, the group visited Birmingham as part of a UK tour to promote the benefits of trading with Bahrain.

Shaikh Mohammed insisted that, despite the political unrest currently underway in Bahrain, it was "absolutely" the best time to begin trading relationships.

"We want to make people aware of the economic opportunities that Bahrain can offer," he said. "It gives us a chance to explain the political situation. Yes, people have different opinions on how fast Bahrain should develop; some say we should move quickly towards a western democracy, others say we have a rich culture which needs to be preserved for as long as possible.

"But forming relationships with companies in this country can only help guide that process."

Shaikh Mohammed said he was keen to see businesses source products and services from one another or set up bases in the corresponding country.

"We are very keen to work with companies in all kinds of sectors; engineering, construction, manufacturing…the list goes on. This delegation wanted to see the industrial heartland of the Midlands – where things are made and produced at the highest quality - and I think some very strong leads have come out of this visit.

Bahrain's economy grew by 2 per cent last year. It is set to expand further over the coming years, as its government has allocated £1.9bn to significant state project expenditure.

It is also set to benefit from the £6.4bn Gulf Development Programme, which will aid key developmental projects in priority sectors such as housing and infrastructure.

The Gulf market is worth an estimated $1tn, a figure which is set to double over the coming years.