Embassy in US launches City Tour initiative to highlight Bahrain's progress

Washington, Nov. 17 (BNA): A drive to build robust relations with key leaders and renowned institutions in the city of Chicago has been launched by the Bahraini Embassy in Washington. A delegation headed by Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Rashed Al Khalifa, and including representatives from the economic, cultural and media departments, started the "City Tour" initiative to promote Bahrain’s developments in various sectors. A briefing about Bahrain's progress was shared at a meeting held with political leaders from congressional offices, including officials from the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The briefing included the reform process and the upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections. The US officials expressed their support to relations with Bahrain and shared the importance of this relationship in securing regional stability, the Bahrain Embassy said in a statement to Bahrain News Agency (BNA). The delegation also visited TechNexus, a venture collaborative, as well as 1871, an incubator for start-ups, both leading co-working space for tech entrepreneurs who want to build new companies, and toured the facilities before holding a meeting their founders and CEOs. The discussions focused on how to support Bahraini innovators by hosting young professional and exposing them to the world's leading innovators, as well as supporting developing Bahrain's technological and labour market. At a luncheon hosted by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, one of the world’s largest law firms, the Embassy delegation connected with key leaders as well as officials from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and State Department. Illinois is the 19th largest economy in the world, a status that made the Bahraini Embassy select this state to further Bahrain's trade and investment ties and position the country as a gateway to the $1.6 trillion Gulf market. The 'City Tour' initiative included visiting well-known educational and cultural institutes in the Chicago metropolitan area in order to support Bahrain's positioning in the global economy, the statement said. A meeting was held with the University of Chicago (UoC) heads of department and a draft Memorandum of Understanding was discussed in efforts to strengthen ties between the university and the private and public educational sector in Bahrain. At the panel discussion that concluded the engagement with UoC, the Ambassador, alongside members of the delegation, highlighted Bahrain’s priorities, reform programme and cultural initiatives. Cultural ties with the state of Illinois were also high on the City Tour and a meeting with the highly reputable Art Institute of Chicago reviewed collaborative opportunities with the Ministry of Culture, as well as providing curating opportunities with Bahraini artists on one of the world's leading artist platforms. At the luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CGA) and the Department of Commerce, the Ambassador spoke about regional security and the value Bahrain offers as a stable nation and a regional political model for others to follow. The event was attended by public officials and diplomats, business leaders, academics as well CGA members. The Chicago City Tour earlier this month concluded with a reception hosted by the Embassy in honour of the leaders, officials and institute representatives the delegation met, as well as other prominent figures across many industries. Bell Racing USA President Kyle Kietzmann gave the keynote speech and explained the company's decision behind shifting their regional manufacturing operations hub to Bahrain by 2015. “The Embassy hopes to continue visiting major states and cities around the US to build a robust network and gain further international expertise. Such visits will assist in supporting the drive to consolidate the status of the Kingdom to being as regional pioneer it has always been,” the Embassy said.