Roddy Drummond, the outgoing Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of Bahrain, said that living in Bahrain for four years has given him a deeper appreciation of the richness of the culture and the diversity that exists even in such a small society, describing the kingdom as "a real pearl".
"I think it's something you have to examine closely here to understand this," he said in an interview with Bahrain News Agency (BNA) as he ends his tenure in Bahrain.
"I was very lucky to come six months before COVID started to get to know people and everything was normal, and then we went through the COVID period," he explained.
The ambassador said he admired the way Bahrain adapted to provide support, treatment, testing every community here in a non-discriminatory way.
The ambassador revealed that there were consultations between the two countries to attract more investments that will contribute to advancing trade, economic and investment cooperation, pointing out that nearly 300 institutions of British origin are represented in Bahrain.
The UK ambassador stated that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to £3.5 billion the first half of this year, which is triple the figure when he first assumed his duties in 2019.
He added that he expected good numbers and statistics that reflect the fruitful economic climate between the two countries.
"The great thing about that is it's two way and it's goods and services", he said "So we're both benefiting and it's creating jobs in both countries."
Ambassador Drummond said that what has been achieved in this last year with the Investment Partnership, signed in July is a platform for future growth, affirming that further announcements of investments and deals will follow.
On the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and GCC states, the ambassador said the four rounds of negotiation have gone well, and that some of the chapters are almost agreed on.
He expected that the two parties will be very close or within reach of a deal soon, and that decisions will be made early next year.
He added: "I see huge efforts from the GCC side, huge efforts from our business trade to close those gaps and to get the most ambitious deal that helps both sides. So I'm very confident."
Ambassador Drummond noted that there about 300 British firms were represented in Bahrain, and that their activity continued to grow. "We've seen examples in the last couple of years. Insurance companies and tech companies, companies in manufactur setting up here, logistics companies expanding their operations, and buffering has still huge potential to be a springboard for operations elsewhere in the region".
Speaking on his personal experience in Bahrain, he said: "Living in Bahrain would be preferred by many people because it's warm and friendly. I've been welding on the people's homes and made friends over the years. There is also something about the culture and the appreciation of culture. music, literature, poetry, and there's a lot of things going on in the background, which shows that this is quite a rich society."
He said that his wife as well has been able to meet people in the society, make some amazing friends in different walks of life, interact with Bahraini artists and appreciate what they're doing and people have shown appreciation for what she's doing on the artistic side.
The British ambassador described women progress and empowerment in Bahrain as remarkable.
He said : "We've also had some amazing experiences meeting women leaders in different fields- athletes and coaches, and people in culture, in education, and people in the NGO sector. But really very dynamic, very impressive. Bahrain has one of the highest participation rates of women in the workforce in this region".
Commenting on the vision for the future of Bahrain-UK relations, the ambassador recalled the progress throughout 207 years, and said he looked ahead and expected to see more moments to celebrate together.
He recounted:" Last year we celebrated the Jubilee with friends and sadly the funeral of the Queen and this year we celebrated the coronation of King Charles. This is a remarkable moment in history. And our royal families came together around these periods. And that closeness in the relationship goes back a very long time."
"I'm very confident those ties will get stronger, because it also depends on security and trade and investment," he concluded.
Source: Bahrain News Agency