Gulf state fears impact of Iran-backed violence on investment climate
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Free Headline Alerts
ABU DHABI — Bahrain has become increasingly concerned that rising Shi'ite unrest could frighten Westerners drawn to the growing regional business hub.
Industry leaders warned that foreign companies, particularly from Europe and the United States, would flee Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom has been regarded as the most attractive venue for investments in the region.
"Such acts of violence will have a serious negative impact on the business and investment climate in the kingdom," Essam Fakhro, chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
Officials and industry leaders said the Shi'ite violence, believed supported by Iran, has made Western diplomats and executives increasingly edgy. They said the Westerners, many of whom use Bahrain as a regional base, were concerned that Shi'ite insurgents would soon target foreigners, Middle East Newsline reported.
"There is no compromise on security and no tolerance or leniency towards the perpetrators and instigators of such heinous crimes against the nation and the people," Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said.
The Shi'ite violence was said to have peaked on April 9 when a police officer was killed and two others injured in a firebomb strike. Officials said about 40 Shi'ite attackers ambushed a patrol car in a village near Manama in what they deemed an act of terrorism. Many of Bahrain's police officers are foreign Sunni Muslims, particularly from Pakistan.
"Unless the government takes stronger measures to stop such vandals, the business climate in our country will also be ruined," Fawzi Kanoo, Bahraini managing director of YBA Kanoo, said. "If such criminal acts continue, Bahrain will find it difficult to attract foreign investors, even those from our neighborhood."