Bahrain has the lowest inflation rate in the region, the lowest business costs, one of the highest business friendly ratings in the world and an unemployment rate at less than five per cent, said a senior government official.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro was speaking at the 'Bahrain - United Kingdom Business Forum: Historic Relations and Future Endeavours' in London yesterday, according to a report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"Bahrain has a long history of friendship with the UK not far short of two centuries, with the first Bahrain-British treaty being signed in 1820, which lasted some 150 years," he said

"It is true to say that the relationship between Bahrain and the UK flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, and I am here to tell you that we are determined that the future will bring us even closer, and to share in our progress," he told more than 400 business leaders at a meeting at the Dorchester Hotel.

"I'm happy to say that there are already many British people who have made Bahrain their permanent home, enjoying a relaxing retirement in our welcoming environment, and in the future we hope to see many more,” Dr Fakhro said.

"We have been, and in fact still are, the first in many areas.

"We have the most advanced political system in the region, highlighted by free elections, the highest literacy rate in the region, the highest percentage of women engaged in both the political and economic sectors,” he added.

"We have GDP per capita of around $28,000, an economy predicted to grow at 5 per cent this year - and we have done all of this without resorting to taxation or having wells in our back gardens, at the same time providing our people with free education, health and housing.

"We are justly proud that Bahrain has put on a record number of firsts in the region, the first industrial sector in education and training, in public services, in administration and legislation, in the discovery of oil, in economic diversification, in development of the aluminium industry, and the first country in the GCC to sign a free trade agreement with the US and now proudly the first to put the foundation of a Vision of 2030 in practice,” Dr Fakhro concluded. – TradeArabia News Service