Ambassador Ereli’s Remarks at the Opening of the US-GCC Investment Forum
December 4, 2007
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here and an honor to welcome our many distinguished guests from the United States, Bahrain and the GCC.
On behalf of the American Embassy in Manama and the U. S. Government, let me begin with a few of words of thanks.
First to His Highness the Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, Deputy of His Majesty the King and Chairman of the Economic Development Board, thank you for your leadership and your generous sponsorship which has made this gathering possible. To our host, his Excellency Dr. Hassan Fakhroo, Minister of Industry and Commerce, thank you for your very warm welcome and enthusiastic support for this endeavor.
To our organizers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Arab Bankers Association of America, thank you for putting together this very important gathering that I believe will strengthen ties between our country and this vital region of the world.
To our sponsors, Overland Capital, Occidental Petroleum, Bahrain Financial Harbor, RJI Capital and DCD Capital - without your generous philanthropy, this event would not have been possible.
And to our partners -- the U.S.-Bahrain Business Council, the U.S.-UAE Business Council, the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council, the American-Kuwaiti Alliance, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry - you are the people who help us all make the deals. We certainly couldn't do it without you. So many, many thanks.
And finally, a very special thank-you to our conference participants, who have traveled from the United States and the region to attend this conference. We recognize that you are busy and important people. You have made a deliberate decision to invest your valuable time and money in coming here today. We appreciate that and we will certainly endeavor to make it worth your while.
As the United States Ambassador to Bahrain, I spend quite a bit of time explaining to American audiences the virtues of investing in Bahrain and the region.
For example, I talk about the robust growth, which has seen real GDP growth in the GCC peak at 7.4% this year. Combined real GDP is approaching one trillion dollars, making the GCC the world's 14th largest economy and accounting for more than half of the GDP of the all Middle Eastern countries combined. The GCC represents 45% of the world's proven oil reserves, 25% of its crude oil exports and 17% of its proven gas reserves. In 2006, the region attracted 42 billion dollars in foreign direct investment.
If you examine the data, the picture is certainly compelling. But numbers are only part of the story. There's another side to the equation, which is equally, if not more important. It's a story that often gets lost if one becomes too focused on the microeconomic. It's what some would call the "the vision thing."
Beyond the numbers, what makes this region so exciting, so dynamic, so rich in potential rewards and so different from the wealth of other investment opportunities out there are its leaders. They are young. They are smart. They are cosmopolitan. And they are visionary.
The boom we are seeing today didn't happen overnight and is the result of more than just high oil prices. Ten, fifteen, in some cases twenty-five years ago, the young leaders of this region looked to the future and made strategic choices that involved not just resource allocation or economic growth targets, but rather focused on transforming societies in ways that both respected traditional values while at the same time making them cutting edge.
Their time frame for transformation was not just the next business cycle, but the next generations. Their goal was not merely wealth creation but something much more ambitious: to make their societies exemplars of tolerance, opportunity, and prosperity and to gain the world's recognition that the countries of the Gulf are about more than just energy. They are world-class competitors in a global economy. They are centers of innovation and creativity, reliable allies and stable partners that can be depended on for the long-term.
You don't have to look very far to see evidence this vision taking shape. Bahrain's and Oman's Free Trade Agreements with the United States are testimony to the openness and transparency of their trade, legal and investment regimes. Doing business here is as easy as doing business in the States. In Qatar, students from the region are getting U.S. degrees from U.S. medical, engineering and business schools. Saudi Arabia is building a state of the art science and technology university and endowing it with $18 billion. The UAE's ports and airports will soon make it one of the largest transportation hubs in the world.
Another thing that will see if you look around is the United States. Everybody knows about the U.S. Naval base here in Bahrain, a consistent presence keeping peace in the Gulf for almost 60 years. What you may not know is that just down the road from here is the American Mission Hospital. It opened in 1903 and was the first hospital in the Gulf. From here in Bahrain, Americans provided medical care to patients throughout the region. Since then, we have helped develop, enrich and secure our friends in the GCC.
Today, as we have for over a century now, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners in the Gulf. They are more than allies, they are friends. And this is based not only on a long history in which we have proven to each other that we are loyal and can be trusted, but equally importantly because we have shared vision for the future.
I encourage you to take your lead from our example. Our association with the people of this region has benefited generations of Americans. The present generation of leadership is moving ahead farther and faster than ever. We applaud them for their foresight and their steadfastness. We have and will continue to support them as valued allies. And we believe that those of you who choose to invest here, will like us, be richly rewarded.