REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT AL-HIDD BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT PARK, BAHRAIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT AL-HIDD BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT PARK, BAHRAIN TUESDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 2009
Minister Fakhro, Minister O’Keeffe, Ambassador, special guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a real pleasure to have this chance to visit the Bahrain International Investment Park and I thank Minister Fakhro for his very warm welcome.
Ireland and Bahrain may not be near neighbours but we are good friends and we have cultural, business and educational ties that go back over thirty years. In that time span, a large number of Irish men and women have come to live and work in Bahrain, making their contribution to many spheres of civil and economic life here. They brought with them their skills and experience from a wide range of backgrounds in state, semi-state and private enterprises. They brought with them too the characteristics of their native country which include deep respect for and interest in their adopted homeland and a facility for making friends easily. These things have served them well here and, when matched with the Bahraini welcome, it is no surprise to find a real and spontaneous warmth between the people of Bahrain and the people of Ireland which translates well into the business world.
The government of Bahrain has engaged with Irish companies in many fields including healthcare management and education, airport management and ancillary services, generation and transmission of electric power, industrial strategy and policy development, attraction of Foreign Direct Investment and the development of new business and technology parks. So the links between us are already strong and have proved their worth. Building on those existing links, we believe that the future is encouraging for the development of the Bahraini-Ireland business relationship and that, despite these tough economic times, there are going to be many opportunities for further growth in trade and partnerships between us.
We in Ireland believe that such partnerships are essential and that it is only by countries working well and fluently together that we are going to transcend the challenges that we all face as a global community. The fact that we already have such close, trusting and warm relations creates a good foundation on which to build for a better future for the people of both Bahrain and Ireland.
In your presence, Dr. Fakhro, I acknowledge with gratitude and pride the role currently being played by the Irish consultancy company, International Development Ireland, along with your Ministry, in the management and development of this new business park, the Bahrain International Investment Park. IDI is a leading management services, consulting and training organization and the relationship between IDI and the Kingdom of Bahrain, which began in the mid-90s, continues to grow. The Managing Director of IDI, Ronan Deignan has travelled from Ireland to join us here today and it is great to see him here.
This current project which started back in 2004 is modelled on tried and tested strategies already implemented by the government of Ireland, encouraging entrepreneurialism, inward investment and first class facilities. The sectors you have targeted for the park are wisely a mix of manufacturing and internationally traded services, and I am sure they will provide a variety of quality, well-paid and rewarding careers for the people of Bahrain. It is good to see an Irish-based company so intimately involved in such an important endeavour and it is precisely this kind of partnership, this kind of sharing of expertise and wisdom which will see both our countries transcend the problems which are testing our world at the moment.
Bahrain and Ireland are small countries and small economies, in the scale of things, but we have an ability and an ambition to punch as far as possible above our weight so that we can bring a stable and enduring prosperity to both our peoples. Here in this business park, we see the evidence of both that ability and ambition. May it flourish.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.
Alf Shukrun.
Thank you all very much.