Washington, DC — June 18-19, 2014

The State International Development Organizations (SIDO) held its Annual Forum in Washington, DC last week. The SIDO Forum brought together leaders of state economic development and international trade offices from around the United States. Attendees came from 33 different states to discuss strategies and tools to assist companies in their states with international trade.

The U.S. EDB Office worked with the Embassy of Bahrain to host a reception and dinner for SIDO delegates that was attended by around 40 people, including economic development leaders from 18 states, Bahrain Embassy officials, Rose Sager from the Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nathan Regan and Lucy Emerson from the EDB U.S. Office. The EDB would like to thank H.E. Ambassador Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa for graciously providing use of the Embassy and a traditional Bahraini meal for the event. At the reception, Nathan gave a presentation on Bahrain with a focus on attracting trade missions into the region. The attendees were very receptive to the presentation and strong leads resulted from Arizona, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

In addition to the reception at the Embassy, Nathan also spoke on a panel attended by the entire forum on “Tackling Alternative Markets” with a representative from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Commercial Service. The conference provided an excellent opportunity for networking with leaders of state economic development organizations, who have strong influence in determining where to send state trade delegations. Many leaders expressed that they had never before thought about Bahrain, but after learning more about the opportunities and incentives for businesses there, would definitely consider making a stop in Bahrain during their trade missions into the region.