Some of you will now that I have been in Bahrain for the last week helping prepare for the World Productivity Congress which will be held here in November. (see worldproductivitycongress.net for details.)
Conversations obviously covered the productivity of Bahrain and its move towards becoming a post-oil economy. Lots of Bahrainis look at Dubai as a possible model – creating an exciting, vibrant economy without oil revenue. But Bahrain should not be looking to be a second Dubai – but a first Bahrain. It has lots of advantages: it is a relatively open, diverse society with a rich history and culture; it has a good technology infrastructure; it has an open economy with no taxes on the movement of capital; most Bahrainis speak English- the international language of business.
What Bahrain has to do now is to find a ‘usp’ – an area of economic activity that it can make its own and that builds on existing strengths.
We are hoping that the World Productivity Congress will leave a legacy that will help transform Bahrain’s economy; the Board of the World Confederation of Productivity Science has offered to facilitate and participate in discussions with Bahrain’s leaders and development agencies to further those discussions.
The future starts in November.