The American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain (AmCham Bahrain) is set to host the bi-annual forum of AmCham Mena regional council in Manama next year.

The forum aimed at promoting trade and investment between the US, Bahrain and the markets of the Middle East and the North Africa (Mena) region will be held on March 15 and 16 under the theme 'SMEs Unlocking Economic Potential in the Mena Region.'

The event will see experts review the role of SMEs as drivers for the region’s economic growth and highlight successful programs for assisting them to scale up for regional and international trade.

The event is expected to attract more than 400 attendees including Mena Council member AmChams (Abu Dhabi-UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia) as well as other regional US Business Councils (Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi), a broad range of international and regional business associations, US Chambers of Commerce and US government representatives.  

Qays H. Zu'bi, the president of AmCham Bahrain, said: "As the current chair of the council, AmCham Bahrain is delighted to announce the hosting of this important upcoming Forum in the kingdom."

"Held every two years, this conference provides a unique platform to strengthen business ties between Mena markets and the many US entities either already doing business or keen to transact in the region," he noted.

"This year we look forward to focusing our efforts on promoting the development of SMEs and supporting their integration into regional and global trade," stated Zu'bi.

Some of the topics to be explored include: “SME’s as key drivers of economic development in the region,” “Assessment of key factors challenging the growth of SMEs and the strategies for “The integration of regional SMEs into the supply chain of U.S. and multinational companies in the region.”

"The growth of SMEs is critical to regional economic development and the forum aims to provide SMEs from across the region with new ideas, connections and resources to extend their reach, expand their markets of opportunity and effectively achieve growth both at a company level as well as to contributing to the broader economic development on a country and regional level," he added.-TradeArabia News Service