Trade between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Grows 51% in 8 Years

Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
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Trade between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Grows 51% in 8 Years

Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)

Trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain grew from $1.4 billion in 2010 to $2.2 billion at the end of 2017, a 51 percent increase.

Saudi exports to Bahrain account for 40 percent of the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, while Bahraini exports account for about 60 percent.

The industrial sector is one of the pillars of Bahrain's economy, accounting for about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Consequently, non-oil exports are the main part of the trade between the two countries.

Exports such as cement, iron and construction materials, as well as foodstuffs represent the majority of Saudi exports to the Bahraini market.

Gulf economies collectively constitute a trade market of about $1.5 trillion, while non-oil exports account for $4.8 billion of Bahrain's economy.

Since 2010, Saudi Arabia's exports to Bahrain have grown from $482 million to $894 million, an average of about 86 percent by the end of 2017. During the same period, Bahrain's exports to Saudi Arabia grew 34 percent from $989 million to $1.3 billion.

Metal, agricultural and animal products, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals and plastics were the majority of products in trade exchange between the two countries.

Bahrain's Economic Development Board attributed the rapid growth of trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to facilitated procedures and logistics between the two countries, especially clearance procedures on the King Fahd Causeway.

Along with the Causeway, the Board expected trade between the two countries to expand after the construction of the King Hamad Bridge. The railway between the two countries will also create great opportunities which will further increase trade in the future.

King Fahd Causeway, Bahrain's only land route, has been transporting a third of Bahrain's non-oil exports to the Saudi market in recent years, reinforcing the importance of establishing the King Hamad Bridge as a second pillar for Bahrain's economy.



WTO Chief Calls for Calm amid Mounting Trade War

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
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WTO Chief Calls for Calm amid Mounting Trade War

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY

The WTO chief called for calm Friday in the face of a swelling global trade war as US President Donald Trump slaps steep tariffs against friends and foes alike.

"I understand the enormous amount of concerns that people have about what is going on," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a meeting at the World Trade Organization headquarters, insisting though that "we shouldn't panic.”

She downplayed fears that the new US administration, which has been harshly critical of WTO, might decide to withdraw, as it has done from the World Health Organization and other UN bodies.

Just back from Washington, where she met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Okonjo-Iweala said "the indications I got is that they remain part of WTO.”

"They want to remain engaged," she told the event, adding that this could "give us room to (be)... I don't want to use the word hopeful, but I think it gives us room to believe that the US still find some value in being able to engage with other members at the WTO.”

"That is one of the reasons I think we should keep calm, we should listen to their concerns," she said.

Since his return to office in January, Trump has introduced sweeping levies against several top US trading partners.

Even though tensions eased a notch on Thursday, after the United States hit pause on the 25-percent tariffs it slapped earlier this week on most goods coming from Mexico and Canada, the standoff with China continues.

The European Union is also in the crosshairs, with Trump threatening the bloc with 25-percent levies, while also signing plans for sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" that could hit both allies and adversaries alike by April 2.

According to AFP, Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged during Friday's event, attended among others by former German chancellor Angela Merkel, that "what is happening now with the tariffs ... is challenging for the system.”

It is "a difficult moment,” she acknowledged, but added: "I will not agree that the system is in chaos or in turmoil.”

"Although the United States is very, very important for world trade, and of course sets a signal," she highlighted that "there is 80 percent of world trade going on among other members of the WTO.”

Other members are "trading among themselves according to the rules that exist," she said. "They should continue to do so."