5 Things You Didn’t Know About Bahrain

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Dubai is the pioneer and trail blazer for just about everything within the Region, however Bahrain has a few ‘Firsts’ that would make any resident of this beautiful Island extremely proud.

1.    Bahrain was the first to drill for oil with the first oil well in the Arabian side of the Persian
Gulf.   As the name indicates, it is the first oil well in the Arabian region of the Persian Gulf and is situated in Bahrain. The well is located below Jebel Dukhan and was managed by Bahrain Petroleum Company. Oil first spurted from this well on 16 Oct 1931, and the well finally began to pull oil on the morning of 2nd June 1932.

2.    In addition to being the first to drill for oil, Bahrain was also the first to diversify away from oil and gas in the late 1970’s focusing on sustainable industries and creation of highly skilled jobs.
Bahrain has always been aware that the hydrocarbons reserves on which its economy was developed more than 70 years ago would not last forever. It has known from the onset that it could not rely on oil and gas wealth for its survival. As a result, the Bahraini government began prioritizing economic diversification, before other Countries in the region.

3.    Bahrain was the first to host Formula One Grand Prix in the Middle East, with the first race taking place at Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004.
The first Bahrain Grand Prix took placed on 4 Apr 2004, creating history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be organized in the Middle East. Bahrain fought great opponents from other Countries in the region to stage the race, such as Egypt, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates, all hopeful for the opportunity of hosting the Formula One Grand Prix.

4.    Bahrain became the first country in the region to develop and implement regulations specific to the Islamic banking industry.
Centered on the recent Islamic banking industry’s excellent financing and development project, Central bank of Bahrain developed the primary supervisory and legal system foundation that meets global requirements to acquire further development and growth of the industry.  By so doing, these standard were incorporated in the prudential regulation issued from the year 2001 and above. Consequently, Bahrain was named the first country in the region to build and implement regulations specific to the Islamic banking industry.

5.    Bahrain was the first Country in the Region to open its housing market to foreigners.
In 1999, the Bahraini government opened certain places in Bahrain for foreign freehold: Juffair, Seef, Reef Island, Durrat Al Bahrain, Riffa Views and Amwaj Islands. With this progressive decision, the government made a positive move to enhance real estate market performance.