PETALING JAYA: Bahrain wants to enhance trade and tourism with Malaysia while building a closer relationship with its people, said Bahrain Embassy Counsellor Rashad Farooq Mohamed Saleh Al-Shaikh during a courtesy call to theSun recently.
Rashad said Bahrain encourages Malaysian businessmen to visit the country, with the possibility of investing there.
“It takes just 48 hours to register a business in Bahrain. Another very interesting aspect of my country is that we levy zero tax on profits made from business activities in the country and we have a free trade agreement with the United States.”
Bahrain is also the hub of Islamic Banking in the Middle East and a large number of financial institutions and companies have set up offices in the country.
“Bahrain is the next biggest exporter of aluminium to the world, after China. Exports from Bahrain to Malaysia in 2021 was in the region of US$245 million (RM1.11 billion).”
He added that his main aim since his posting to Malaysia in June last year was to improve bilateral relations between the two countries and see how he could attract more Malaysians to visit Bahrain, which is a 6,000-year-old civilisation that attracts an average of 200,000 Saudi visitors to the island nation each year.
He added that Bahrain is also the gateway to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
“There are many historical sites in Bahrain which can be tourist attractions for Malaysians.
“The food is also very good and unique.
“The temperature in the country can drop to 10°C in winter. It usually hovers around 20°C but in the summer, it gets very hot.”
Earlier, Rashad had an hour-long dialogue with theSun managing editor Eddie Hoo and associate editor Joshua Purushotman.
During their discussions, Hoo explained a little of the company’s history and how it transformed into the country’s first free newspaper.
Hoo also spoke generally about the Malaysian media scene and the need for responsibility when publishing news.
“The Malaysian media is pretty free when compared with many other countries.
“As a multiracial, multiethnic country, we have to be sensitive to the different races and religions in the country. The media in Malaysia plays a very important role in fostering unity, and theSun is at the forefront of this.
“We also often highlight a lot of charities that need financial help to sustain their operations. So, you can say that we are very much a media company with heart.”
