Bahrain will continue to successfully host major international events despite biased reports in the Western media, thanks to its solid reputation, a senior government official said.

The attendance at this year's Middle East Oil Show (MEOS), which concluded last week, has given Bahrain a stamp of approval, said Energy Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza.

"Despite a lot of inaccurate information being given out on Bahrain over the last few months, MEOS this year was a tremendous success," he said.

"Nearly 7,000 participants, including top executives from the world's major oil and gas companies, attended.

"This shows we are back in business and we are still one of the best places in the world for international gatherings.

"It was the largest attendance at MEOS and we are happy the events in the last few months and the negative publicity in the international media has not deterred participants."

He said 6,687 people took part in the exhibition and conference, a significant increase over the last event in 2009, when the attendance was nearly over 3,000.

"The number of participating countries this year was 42, compared with 38 in 2009," said Dr Mirza.

"A total of 242 papers were presented this year and there were 410 companies compared with 350 two years ago."

Dr Mirza said this was also the first time that the entire 14,300 square feet area of the two exhibition halls at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre were utilised for the show.

He said a detailed report on the event was presented to the Cabinet last Sunday, during which His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa was briefed on its success.

"The unique aspect of this year's event was the hosting of four other events along with the exhibition and conference," said Dr Mirza.

"Experts in various fields, including finance and investment, in the Middle East Prospect Exhibition (MEPEX 2011) discussed oil and gas exploration projects, while participants at the Women in the Oil Industry Forum discussed the problems and challenges they faced."

He said that 22 educational and training institutes took part in another initiative, the Getenergy Village for Education and Training.

Nearly 250 university and school students from GCC countries also took part in a workshop aimed at introducing the oil industry to the younger generation and motivate them to join it, added Dr Mirza. – TradeArabia News Service