Bahrain

In the three decades before the 2007-08 global financial crisis, the world’s financial networks became increasingly interconnected. Financial system regulatory convergence and the growing penetration of World Trade Organisation rules, as well as the creation of currency unions such as the euro, resulted in a surge in cross-border capital flows...

Benefitting from its robust financial services, industrial and manufacturing sectors, Bahrain’s economy is one of the most mature and diverse in the GCC. Although the kingdom has suffered in the wake of sustained low and volatile international oil prices – which have resulted in sluggish regional and national GDP growth, as well as a widening...

Global trade faces protectionist headwinds that are dampening the outlook for growth in the coming years. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), trade volumes expanded by 3% in 2018 and are expected to decline slightly to 2.6% in 2019 before rebounding to 3% in 2020. This may be the first time since the 2007-08 global financial...

For much of its history, Bahrain was the name for the eastern coast of Arabia. Bahrain means “two seas” in Arabic, and although it is unclear which two seas the name refers to, it has recently come to identify the 33 natural islands of the Awal archipelago.

With its first hospital dating back to the 1890s, Bahrain has long had solid fundamentals for care provision. A number of recent moves saw the government make major strides in its health care development agenda, including with the passing of the National Health Insurance Law (NHIL) and the establishment of the national ambulance system in 2018...

Rising health care costs, ageing populations and changing lifestyles in emerging economies are stoking demand for medical technology (medtech) solutions. These entail not just smart devices that remotely monitor and transmit biometric data, but any instance of technology that helps to deliver health services. These initiatives are happening...