The Kingdom of Bahrain was the first Gulf State to discover crude oil. However, its oil reserves are not as abundant as its neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. Forecasts expect Bahrain’s oil reserves will run dry within the next 10-15 years. As a result, the Bahraini government has actively sought to diversify and privatise its economy in order to reduce its reliance on oil.
Bahrain’s economic success is partly a result of the government’s initiatives to diversify its economy. However, most of Bahrain’s economic growth over the past decade has in fact been the result of continuous development within the private sector.
Bahrain, like many other Gulf States has historically relied on oil as its primary source of income. However, with Bahrain’s oil reserves forecasted to run dry within the next 10 to 15 years, the Bahraini government identified its need to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
Since the 1960s, the Kingdom of Bahrain embarked on an economic diversification programme – through the promotion of other natural resources such as natural gas, and attracted foreign investments and industries; including the aluminum industry.
The battle for control of this strategic island kingdom intensified on Tuesday as
Iran lashed out at the arrival of Saudi troops brought in to help retake the streets from anti-government protesters
and the king declared a three-month state of emergency.
Long-simmering popular anger at Sunni domination over a Shiite majority
has been ratcheted up by recent revolts across the Arab world.
“We are not an exact copy of what happened in Egypt but we have been inspired by it,”
Libya is commanding the world’s attention in its state of civil war. However, Libya is not the most important event in the Arab world at the moment. According to Startfor the demonstrations in Bahrain are far more significant in their implications for the region and potentially for the world.
We’ve noted before that the Sunni elite / Shiite majority population factor in Bahrain has echoes all over the “Oil Gulf” region.
And part of the growing problem the US already has — and will have in the future — in dealing with the MENA People Power movements
is indicated by its deeply problematic relations with that majority Shiite population in Bahrain —
At the heart of the Bahrain crisis is a Sunni / Shia Muslim split
that is not limited to the small island off Saudi Arabia,
but extends throughout the Persian Gulf region, home of most Arab oil wealth.
The Sunni al-Khalifa family has ruled Bahrain since 1782
despite a clear majority of the population being Shia.
There have always been tensions between the two communities,
with the Shia accusing the royal family of packing the higher echelons
Bahrain became USA’s first FTA partner in the Arabian Peninsula with the enforcement of the USBFTA on August 1, 2006. As a direct result of the FTA, bilateral trade between Bahrain and US almost doubled in volume between 2005 and 2008; Bahrain’s exports to the US grew by 37 percent in value in the same period.
The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands located near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. Bahrain’s capital, Manama, resides on the Northeast tip of Bahrain Island; the largest island in the kingdom. Bahrain is strategically positioned in the Middle East with good access to its neighbouring countries in the region by air, land and sea.
