Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain launch “City Tour” initiative with Chicago, Illinois
Embassy Newsletter November 6 2014
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Washington D.C. embarked on their first visit of their “City Tour” initiative in Chicago, Illinois, in efforts to promote the country’s developments in various sectors. The delegation, headed by His Excellency the Ambassador, compromised of representatives from the economic, cultural and media department. The delegation spoke with the key leaders and renowned institutions in hopes of collaborative initiatives.
The delegation met with political leaders including congressional offices, as well as officials from the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. A briefing about Bahrain’s developments was shared, including the reform process and the success of the upcoming elections. The public officials expressed their support of our country’s bilateral relations and shared the importance of this relationship in securing regional stability.
The delegation 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. The delegation toured their facilities, followed by meeting their founders and CEOs. The discussions focused on how to support Bahraini innovators by hosting the country’s young professional in these incubators to expose them to the world’s leading innovators, and supporting developing Bahrain’s technological and labor market.
A important aspect of these tours is building ties with key education and cultural centers. This included meeting with the University of Chicago (UoC) heads of department where a draft Memorandum of Understanding was discussed in efforts to strengthen ties between the university and the private and public educational sector in Bahrain. The engagement with UoC concluded with a panel, where HE the Ambassador and members of the delegation spoke on the country’s priorities, reform program and cultural initiatives.
The cultural ties with the state of Illinois continued with meeting the highly reputable Art Institute of Chicago, in finding 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.
The visit continued with a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CGA) and the Department of Commerce, where HE Ambassador Abdulla spoke on 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 delegation continued their visit with a luncheon hosted by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, one of the largest law firms in the world, where the Embassy 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, which is why the Embassy chose this state to further Bahrain’s trade and investment ties and positioning the country as a gateway to the $1.4 trillion Gulf market.
The Chicago visit concluded with a reception hosted by the Embassy inviting individuals and institutes met on this trip, as well as other prominent figures across many industries. The keynote speaker was Bell Racing USA President, Kyle Kietzmann, who explained the company’s decision behind shifting their regional manufacturing operations hub to Bahrain by 2015.
The Embassy hopes to continue visiting key states around the US to build their network and gain from international expertise. These visits will assist in pushing the Kingdom to being the regional pioneer it has always been.
