by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
MANAMA: An air bubble agreement has been finalised by Bahrain and India to facilitate travel between the two countries, the Indian Embassy in Bahrain has announced.
As per the arrangement, both Indian and Bahraini national carriers will be permitted to operate specified number of flights between India and Bahrain, the embassy said in a statement.
The designated airlines for the purpose are: Gulf Air, Air India and Air India Express.
The following categories of persons will be allowed on such flights:
From Indian to Bahrain
Bahraini nationals/ residents
Any Indian national holding any type of valid Bahraini visa and destined for Bahrain only. It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Bahrain with the particular visa category before issue of ticket/boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
From Bahrain to India
Indian nationals stranded in Bahrain
All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding Bahraini passports, and
Bahraini nationals holding valid visa issued by an Indian mission.
The designated airlines of both sides will be permitted to sell tickets between Indian and Bahrain in each direction through their websites, sales agents and Global Distribution Systems.
Passengers can contact the specified airlines for tickets, the statement said.
-TradeArabia News Service
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Manama : A new oil pipeline was launched on Monday during a ceremony that was attended by leaders from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain’s King Hamad praised strong ties between the two countries as he launched the AB-4 pipeline to celebrate over 70 years of bilateral energy cooperation, Xinhua news agency reported.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also attended the event.
The new 112-km long AB-4 oil pipeline has a capacity of over 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which will replace the existing 73-year-old pipeline system.
The new oil pipeline starts from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq Plants and finish at the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) Refinery in Bahrain.
“Bahrain cherishes the strong historic bonds it shares with Saudi Arabia and is committed to further strengthening these ties to drive continued sustainable development,” said King Hamad in a statement released by the Bahrain News Agency.
The country’s top leader praised the Saudi leadership and the longstanding cooperation between Bapco and Saudi Aramco, a partnership which has continually enhanced bilateral relations since 1945.
The Saudi crown prince visited Bahrain as part of his tour, and met with senior Bahraini officials including Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Bahrain’s Cabinet and the Shura Council praised the high-level visit by the Saudi crown prince and said it reflects strong bilateral ties.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Muslim World
Amwaj Islands (Bahrain) : The 25th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) officially kick-started with a stimulating IIFM Awareness Seminar that covered a broad spectrum of issues, focused on entrenching transparency in advancing sustainable growth in the Islamic Financial Market, on the 26th of November at the ART Rotana Hotel, Amwaj Islands, Bahrain.
With a packed audience of 300 delegates, the 9th annual IIFM pre-conference seminar saw an insightful opening address by Khalid Hamad Abdulrahman Hamad, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain and Chairman of IIFM, who discussed IIFM’s 3 Year Strategic Plan (2017 – 2020) and its new initiatives being undertaken in collaboration with other international bodies such as the two Participation Agreements for Islamic Trade Finance that will be launched soon jointly with Washington based Bankers Association of Finance & Trade (BAFT) as well as the master agreements for gold trading being considered with UK based World Gold Council and London Bullion Market Association.
Stressing on the growing need for widespread adoption of standards, Mr. Hamad said, “IIFM has gained much credibility and reached a stage of maturity with sound achievements to date, however, there is still a burning need to get its standards to be used more actively by wider market players which can only happen if there is strong endorsement from regulators, particularly those in Islamic banking markets across GCC and Asia.”
The opening address was followed by an overview of IIFM’s Shari’ah-Compliant Financial Documentation and Product Confirmation Standards. The rest of the day ensued with thought-provoking sessions covering the most pressing issues affecting Islamic financial markets like Trade Finance and the IIFM-BAFT Master Participation Agreements; Developments in the Global Sukuk Market and Gold related Shari’ah-Complaint Documentation & Products Standardization Possibilities.
The seminar concluded with a critical discussion on the latest developments in global financial markets that saw an assessment of Benchmark Rate Reform and the preparedness levels of Islamic financial institutions. The session also discussed the need for digitization of Islamic financial contracts and products and the challenges which Islamic banks have to overcome particularly in adopting smart contracts.
The seminar saw a host of critical insights unfold from Industry Leaders comprising Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive Officer, IIFM; Hammad Hassan, Managing Director, Bank ABC Islamic and Group Head of Islamic Banking, Bank ABC; Andrew Naylor, Director-Central Banks and Public Policy, World Gold Council; Lilian Le Falher, Executive Manager, Head of Treasury, FI & Capital Markets, Kuwait Finance House (Bahrain); Omar Mustafa Ansari, Acting Secretary General, AAOIFI; Mian Nazir, Chief Executive Officer, Dar Al Sharia; Habib Motani, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP; Dr. Hatim El-Tahir, Director, Audit & Assurance, Deloitte & Touche – Middle East among others.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Markets, Muslim World, Social Round-up, Technology
Manama : Bahrain is set to host the fourth edition of Bahrain Excellence Forum on October 24 and 25.
The event, which will be held under the patronage of Cabinet Affairs Minister Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa, will cast light this year on artificial intelligence and its role in government excellence.
Act Smart Public Relations Consultancy will organize the forum in cooperation with the Artificial Intelligence Society in Bahrain.
The forum’s Assistant Secretary General Noura Al-Aliwi underlined the importance of artificial intelligence as one of the primary outputs of the industrial, informatics and technological revolutions.
She said artificial intelligence is likely to open the door for unlimited innovations, pointing out its use in numerous fields.
This, she added, might bring about a radical change in people’s lives due to the mammoth and fast-paced technological development and the global changes brought about by the fourth industrial revolution.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Emerging Businesses, Investing, Muslim World
Islamabad : Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Tuesday agreed to reinvigorate economic and investment relations between their countries to boost the current bilateral trade volume of $310 million.
The two sides expressed the commitment as Sheikh Khalid telephoned Shah Qureshi to congratulate him on assuming the office of foreign minister. They agreed to revive institutional mechanisms of Joint Ministerial Commission and Bilateral Political Consultations to explore fresh avenues of bilateral cooperation.
Foreign Minister Qureshi congratulated Sheikh Khaild on achieving the Tier One status on anti-human trafficking efforts and termed it as a remarkable achievement that made the entire Muslim world proud. He expressed gratitude for Bahrain’s assistance in setting up Hamad University in Islamabad and for hosting more than 100,000 Pakistani workers in Bahrain.
—AB/UNA-OIC
