As competition for global investment heats up across the Gulf, it’s easy to assume bigger is always better.
But for Bahrain, the smallest of the GCC states, its strengths come not from its size but from its strategic positioning, according to the head of the government agency tasked with bringing investment into the kingdom.
“The good thing about being a small country is that we have no ego, so we’re not trying to compete with the big players,” H.E. Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, the CEO of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB), tells Fortune.
“We know what our advantages are and where we can play better, and that’s what we double down on.”
Rather than attempting to compete head-on with its larger neighbors in signing multibillion-dollar deals, the small island kingdom is carving out a distinctive strategy centered on agility, advanced regulation, skilled talent, and niche specialisms to position itself as a complementary investment destination.
