Bahrain has outlined its strategy to strengthen its position as the regional hub for investors and also stressed on importance of building trust in the region.

The country will focus on its strategic domestic investments so that it is ready to capitalise when the global economy picks up, the conference was told.

Bahrain's core strength of belief in values - of justice, fair competition and economic sustainability, as outlined in its Economic Vision 2030 - will help the nation progress further, said Crown Prince and Economic Development Board chairman Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is leading a high-profile delegation to the World Economic Forum on the Middle East at the Dead Sea, Jordan.

He was addressing a session on human resources as the sole guarantee for the region to combat the global financial slowdown.

The Crown Prince stressed the importance of building trust in the region.

Bahrain will also be on the lookout for global investments in sectors like tourism, Mumtalakat Chief Executive Talal Alzain said in an interview on the sidelines of the forum.

"Right now, my focus really is on the existing portfolio companies which is mostly in the Bahrain market," he said.

Alzain said two blue-chip Bahraini stocks, including Batelco, were among Mumtalakat's key local holdings. It also owns Gulf Air, which has been undergoing major restructuring.

As it strives to diversify its revenues, Mumtalakat would seek to target investments in commodities including food, financial services, telecoms and tourism in Asia, Europe and the US, Alzain said.

"We are still looking at these areas, we believe that these areas can give us on a long-term basis good returns, we are long term investors," he added.-TradeArabia News Service