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Bahrain has few natural resources, so the archipelago depends heavily on its ability to provide services. Banking is key to this effort, and Bahrain’s bid to serve as the region’s hub for banking and financial services received a boost in 2006. By the third quarter of 2006, the consolidated balance sheet of Bahrain’s banking system had increased by $5.5 billion (3.4 percent) to reach $168.4 billion. According to the Central Bank of Bahrain, this represents an increase of 26.3 percent over 2005. Offshore banking units (OBUs) represented 82 percent of the consolidated balance sheet, while total domestic assets amounted to $26.6 billion in September 2006.

Bahrain – 2007 Forecast Top Ten Manufactured U.S. Imports ($ Billion)

(SOURCE: IRmep)

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, in recognition of FTA implementation, noted, “We have worked closely and intensively with the Government of Bahrain… [and] the agreement marks a milestone in strengthening ties and promoting freedom in the Middle East.”

Tunisia

U.S. exports to Tunisia jumped nearly 40 percent in 2006 and are on track to increase another 20 percent in 2007. The North African nation’s main trading partners are in Europe, primarily because of the two regions’ close geographical ties, but Tunisia’s leadership has made it clear that Tunisia welcomes a closer economic relationship with the United States. In 2007, driven by sales of grain, autos and aircraft, U.S. exports are forecast to increase to nearly three percent of Tunisia’s total imports.

In recent years, in part because of its proximity to the Mediterranean, Tunisia has been increasingly successful in attracting foreign investors. Inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $16.9 billion in 2005, according to UNCTAD’s World

Investment Report 2006, up from $5.4 billion in the year 2000. From 2002 to 2005, according to the same report, Tunisia’s greenfield FDI projects grew 275 percent, with annual growth averaging 96 percent.

One of these investors is Libya, which plans to construct an oil refinery in Skhirat, south of Tunis, as well as a tourist zone on the Libya - Tunisia border. Libya intends to increase its 2007 investments in Tunisia to $3 billion dollars, up from $2.3 billion in 2006.

Tunisia – 2007 Forecast Top Ten Manufactured U.S. Imports ($ Billion)

(SOURCE: IRmep)

In Tunisia, it is axiomatic that the country’s greatest resource is its people. Education has been the country’s number one priority for decades, and Tunisia has historically led the Arab world in primary school education (with 98 percent attendance levels). With its close ties to the West and its strong commitment to education, Tunisia is well positioned to become a leading knowledge-based society.

Yemen

2007 may be the year that Yemen, after a number of strikeouts, hits one out of the park.

Natural Gas: Yemen is scheduled to complete a $3.7 billion LNG project in 2009, but the project appears to be slipping behind schedule. 2007 may be the year to get this project back on track. Yemen’s two LNG trains will each produce 3.5 million tons a year of gas piped from Marib to the coast, where it will be processed and »