Bahrain-Saudi Arabia non-oil trade surges 43% in Q3
Trade has returned to pre-COVID levels after the reopening of the King Fahd Causeway
Dubai: Non-oil trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain rose 43 per cent to $688.4 million during the third quarter of 2020, following the easing of restrictions on cargo transit over the King Fahd Causeway in August.
Saudi Arabia is one of Bahrain’s key trading partners, with majority of imports and exports flowing via the King Fahd Causeway – a 25 km bridge connecting both countries by road. Last year during the same period, trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain was valued at only $481 million.
The bridge “acts as an essential link between Bahrain and the wider $1.5 trillion Gulf economy for millions of passengers and commercial trucks each year,” said Abdulhakim Al Shamary, Board Member of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), in a statement.
Bilateral commerce between the two nations surged 12 percent past the $2 billion mark during the first three quarters of 2020 to record a substantial year-on-year increase from the 2019 figure of $1.93 billion.
“Despite COVID-19, commercial drivers have still been able to use the bridge enabling critical continuity for the logistics sector,” said Al Shamary.