BILLION-DOLLAR FACELIFT AS BAHRAIN BIDS TO JOIN GULF BOOM

MANAMA - With a multi-billion dollar economic revamp in full swing, tiny Bahrain is vying to keep pace with its Gulf neighbours after more than a decade beset by political unrest.

The United Arab Emirates, another regional powerhouse with well-developed trade, tourism and financial industries alongside its large oil sector, is just a short flight away.

Bahrain has witnessed turbulence since the crushing of an uprising in 2011 but has since begun a modernising facelift, instigating economic and fiscal reforms.

Extensive land reclamations are literally changing the shape of the country, while a host of gleaming new buildings dot the skyline and cranes work above nascent housing developments.

The small, non-OPEC oil producer, is seeking to decrease its reliance on its oil sector which accounts for 80 percent of revenues, much of that from refining.

"The principles are clear: We want to grow. We want to grow faster than the world," Khalid Ibrahim Humaidan, head of the government's Economic Development Board, told reporters in Manama, the capital. An unexpected boost could come from the announcement of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran, which Bahrain accused of stoking unrest during the 2011 protests. "In an optimistic scenario, the SaudiIran rapprochement would gather pace and create a more conducive environment for political conciliation within Bahrain which in turn could derisk the economy," Gulf economist Justin Alexander, director of consultancy group Khalij Economics, told AFP. Bahrain, a monarchy whose cabinet is appointed by the king, boasts a rich commercial tradition dating back to its days as a flourishing pearling centre.

Consisting of one large island and about 30 smaller ones, it was a British protectorate until 1971, becoming a financial hub that initially led its neighbours in terms of economic diversification.

Increased regional competition, mainly from Dubai and Doha, but also political instability and economic challenges, especially after global oil prices plunged in 2014, have all hurt Bahrain. – AFP.