Economy minister, Bahraini counterpart agree to promote small businesses
Bahrain's Al Zayani expressed hope for mutual learning, which he said has the potential to transcend economic interests.
By TOBIAS SIEGALEconomy Minister Amir Peretz and Bahraini Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani meet in Israel to sign groundbreaking MOUs regarding financial collaboration on Tuesday, December 1st, 2020.(photo credit: ECONOMY MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON)
Economy Minister Amir Peretz and his Bahraini counterpart, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, met on Tuesday and reached a groundbreaking understanding regarding collaborative efforts between their two nations.Specifically, Peretz and Al Zayani signed several Memoranda Of Understanding (MOU) for regulating collaboration, including for the promotion of small businesses suffering under the shadow of coronavirus. The ministers also announced that the countries would work to promote joint innovative projects in the near future.Peretz welcomed the understandings reached with his Bahraini counterpart and expressed hope that the collaborative efforts would yield economic growth."The cooperation between the countries will manifest yet another milestone in helping Israeli businesses evolve, grow and move forward, despite the coronavirus pandemic," Peretz said."Diversifying the collaborative efforts strengthens Israel's financial and national resilience. That's why opening additional financial avenues is so important. We're proud to complete our meeting with significant understandings that express financial growth," Peretz added.Bahrain's Al Zayani expressed hope for mutual learning, which he said has the potential to transcend economic interests."I'm proud to be in Israel and would like to thank you for the warm welcome. I hope that during my visit I learn new things about your culture, and not just about financial matters," Al Zayani said. "Bahrain has always been a peaceful country. The Bahraini government, together with the Bahraini people are proud of the normalization of relations signed with Israel."He added that Bahrain looks forward to "working together on various issues, like cyber, agriculture and more," and promised to return to Israel "as a guest, a tourist and a friend."Chairman of the Board of Israel's Innovation Authority, Dr. Ami Appelbaum also commented on the meeting between Peretz and Al Zayani, stressing the potential it has for connecting between small businesses in Israel and Bahrain.Appelbaum called the meeting "another significant step in promoting the cooperation between the two countries and strengthening the economic and business relations in a way that will allow Israeli and Bahraini businesses to collaborate ... and hold joint pilots," adding that "this kind of collaboration is like a stepping stone for Israeli companies looking to enter financial markets in Gulf-states.
Earlier on Tuesday, Peretz and Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen greeted Al Zayani on his arrival in Israel with about 40 other business and state officials from Bahrain.The guests, including top officials from the Tourism Board, Economic Development Board and Securities Authority, will spend three days exploring what Israel has to offer in its business, tourism and innovation sectors.Al Zayani is expected to meet Farkash-Hacohen on Wednesday and sign MOUs for promoting tourism between the countries.
