Travel Delegation Bahrain | WTC Palm Beach

Greetings from World Trade Center Palm Beach,

Having just returned with the delegation from a 5-day Cross Border Business Development visit from Palm Beach to the Kingdom of Bahrain, I unequivocally declare the 'experiment' a success!!!

It has taken a few days to refresh from the journey and to catch up on daily business matters that were put on hold for the time. With that done, I have begun follow up steps for the delegation and its successes.

First, I cannot thank the WTC Palm Beach team and our friends in the business and governmental communities of Bahrain enough for all they did in making this a very productive trip. A special thank you to Rose Sager, the Trade Representative from the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States, for all that she has done. Coordinating the activities for the delegation in Bahrain with its numerous agencies providing overviews and insights into the business, education, and governmental offerings of Bahrain took a significant effort.

Of particular note was the reception jointly coordinated by Amcham, the Bahrain India Society and the Bahrain Businesswomen's Society. Their welcoming reception was simply over the top. With some 70 attendees, the success of the delegation was all but guaranteed.

Of the dozen or so companies represented by WTC Palm Beach's traveling delegates, three immediate results are being reported with others in the pipeline. Deals that are advancing involve the procurement of food (meat) products, supplying industrial pumps for use in oil drilling facilities and an internship cooperation agreement for higher education students to and from Bahrain.

I also can report contact from a Bahrain based business looking to establish a presence in the U. S. and wanting to discuss the immigration and tax issues involved with my law office's team of legal providers. There are also on-going conversations within the group about establishing a Bahrain entity to further the opportunities uncovered on the trip.

Overall, the trip was a success... and more will follow!

Below is a day to day recap with comments covering the 'experiment' and the overviews provided by the private and public agencies visited. Photos accompany this effort. I will be sharing this recap with the entire audience both in Palm Beach and in Bahrain. A personal note of thanks will be sent to all the attendees for their time and courtesies and suggesting a reciprocal delegation to travel from Bahrain to Palm Beach over the summer.

A visit designed to include meetings with business and tourism officials; members of the local and state governments and even the possibility of the Governor's participation. A visit to allow Palm Beach County to demonstrate why it should be Bahrain's portal for business and commerce into the state of Florida, the United States and Canada, specifically, and the Western Hemisphere, generally.

In closing, please enjoy the materials below and be on the look-out for next step announcements advancing the positive results realized to date.

Alfred Zucaro

President and Founder

WTC Palm Beach

DAY 1

One measurement of success is at this AUBH event, a delegation member was able to open up discussion for collaboration with the American University about an Internship program. The University is eagerly looking for U.S. Universities to interact with for student internship opportunities to and from the Kingdom as a means to effectuate students as diplomatic emissaries to the world.

DAY 2

Bahrain Imports Most Everything For Its Citizenry

Doing business in and to Bahrain is very user friendly as we learned while visiting — once established as a Bahrain entity, doing business throughout the GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council, is without duty and tariff restrictions.

Important to note: There is a significant interest on the part of the Bahrain India Society and Amcham to explore utilizing the Free Trade Agreements with the United States, Bahrain and India to identify opportunities for establishing a presence in the United States for their businesses. My law firm has opened up opportunities with some of these businesses to explore that possibility and, in my role as Ambassador from Palm Beach, I encouraged that entry into the U.S. market through the state of Florida, utilizing south Florida, Palm Beach County, specifically, as the leading portal to western hemisphere market.

DAY 3

Over 300 financial institutions from around the region and the world have chosen Bahrain as their point of interest to the region.

CitiBank and Amazon Web Services have made Bahrain their regional headquarters for business in the Middle East and North Africa markets. A lot of compatibility exists with Palm Beach in the financial space. Opportunities abound, local county leadership should recognize this and begin to open up dialogue with their counterpart in Bahrain.

DAY 4

Establishing A Business Entity In Bahrain Has Many Advantages

There is no minimum capital requirement and no requirement for the number of employees to establish the business. The Bahrain Investors Center is a one stop center for new businesses. It provides guidance for acquiring the Certificate Registration (CR) to be a Bahrain entity.

Once established as a Bahraini entity, the company can do business within Bahrain, throughout all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and with any of the 21 nations that Bahrain has Free Trade Agreements with around the world as long as there is value added established in Bahrain.

DAY 5

American individuals and companies are especially welcomed to participate as a Bahrain entity and take advantage of the no personal or corporate income tax, the freedom of employment for key individuals and the 21 Free Trade Agreements with countries throughout the world. This could not be more prevalent than realizing that there is now being developed an United States Trade Zone (USTZ) at the Bahrain seaport to encourage investment in the Kingdom.

WTCPB Contributor