The Philippines and Bahrain agreed to undertake major business projects, including the establishment of a Bahraini-Philippine Islamic Bank, free trade zones between the two countries, fish farming, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The business ventures were approved during the joint meeting in Manila Friday between the Philippines-Bahrain Business Council and the Bahrain-Philippine Business Council. The meeting was hosted by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Bahraini-Philippine Islamic Bank is envisioned to operate as an international bank. It was proposed during the discussion that the envisioned Islamic bank buys out 40% of the Philippine Amanah Bank, a moribund government bank which was supposedly an Islamic banking institution. However, the buyout of 40%, share received less interest from the Bahraini delegation, which preferred establishing a new international bank as a joint venture. A number of pledges to subscribe to the capital stock of the proposed Bahraini-Philippine Islamic Bank have been assured by Bahraini and Filipino businessmen. “The establishment of the Bahrain-Philippine Islamic bank is a priority in view of the need of private business for low-interest loan normally offered by Islamic bank,” said Ambassador Amable R. Aguiluz V, chairman of the Philippine-Bahrain Business Council and special Philippine envoy to the GCC countries. Bahrain has been offered to invest in the Philippine free trade zones, including those at Subic and Clark export processing zones, and has expressed positive response in investing in aquaculture fish farming and pharmaceutical manufacturing. “These projects interest us and we will give them priority,” said Jawad Yousif Alhawaj, chairman of the Bahrain-Philippine Business Council. The business councils of both countries also agreed to open a Philippine trade center for Philippine products in Manama, joint ventures in tourism and service sector, and cooperate in human resource development, including education and training. The resumption of Philippine Airlines (PAL) flights to the Gulf Region to boost Philippine tourism was also pushed. Bahraini and Filipino businessmen also agreed to apply the benefit out of the free trade agreement with the United States to boost Bahraini-Philippines joint ventures. Bahrain is the first GCC country to have concluded FTA accord with US. Dr. Essam Abdullah Yousif Fahkro, president of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced that the opening of the Bahrain-Qatar Causeway in 2013 will benefit Philippine trade to the region using Bahrain as the transshipment port. The $3 billion Bahrain-Qatar Causeway will be about 40 kilometers long and will consist of a number of bridges combined with roads constructed on causeways and will be a natural extension of the King Fahd Causeway that connects Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The bridge, envisioned to be the world's longest when finished, will virtually link the GCC countries.
