Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa was appointed Bahrain's ambassador to the United States in April 2017. Born in 1980, Al Khalifa is the son of Bahraini Interior Minister Lieutenant General Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa. The younger Al Khalifa graduated from Ibn Khuldoon National School in 1997 and came to the United States for college. He earned a B.S. in management from Bentley College (now Bentley University) in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2001 and an MBA from the same school in 2003. Bentley opened a Bentley in Bahrain program in 2002.

Al Khalifa returned to Bahrain and was made head of educational affairs for the Royal Family Council. Two years later, he was director of education and the Social Affairs Directorate. In 2007, Al Khalifa was named director of planning and followup for the General Organization for Youth and Sports and the following year became the organization’s human resources director. In March 2010, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed Al Khalifa to a four-year term as governor of Bahrain’s Southern Governorate, the largest such political division. He was reappointed in 2015. Al Khalifa is also a member of the National Commission for Drug Control and the board of the Bahrain Olympic Committee. He was previously president of Bahrain’s Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation and president of the Asian Bodybuilding Federation and a member of the board of directors of the Bahraini Archery Federation.

America's Roundtable conversation with Ambassador Al Khalifa includes the following key topics:

1) The history of the US-Bahrain friendship and partnership. The United States and the Kingdom of Bahrain's longstanding partnership with a strong record of economic, cultural, trade and security cooperation. 

2) Opportunities for trade and investment via United States Trade Zone in Bahrain (USTZ), as a regional trade, manufacturing, logistics, and distribution hub for U.S. companies in Bahrain, markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and beyond.

3) Bahrain's advances in technology, ranked 4th globally in ‘Internet users’ category with 99% penetration, as per the Global Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum (WEF)

4) US-Bahrain partnership with Bahrain hosting the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and the headquarters of U.S. Naval Forces.

5) Bahrain joining a coalition of like-minded countries committed to upholding the rules-based order, protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce, and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on mariners and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

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The U.S-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force in 2006, generating additional commercial opportunities for both countries.

Ambassador Al Khalifa is dedicated to strengthening the longstanding friendship between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States to drive the two countries’ shared vision for security, prosperity and friendship. He is a steadfast advocate for Bahrainis in the US and an emissary of peace to the American people.

According to Talmudic references, Jews resided in Bahrain since ancient times and Arabic records highlight the co-existence of Arabs and Jews dating back some 1,400 years ago. During the 12 century, Benjamin of Tudela, a medieval Jewish traveler, wrote about Africa, Asia, and Europe, and recounted that Jews were engaged in the local pearl industry.

Bahrain has a population of 1.7 million people, with access to a much larger market within the Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising of estimated over 65 million people, as well as to the Arab League, which totals 407 million people of its member countries, mostly living in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

On Bahrain's economic sphere, a US government report states:

"The banking and finance sector is the largest non-oil contributor to Bahrain’s economy. Bahrain is home to 376 financial institutions and the second largest Islamic finance hub after Malaysia, with over $31.4 billion in assets under management. Aluminum manufacturing accounts for the bulk of Bahrain’s manufacturing sector, and contributes 12 percent of GDP. Aluminum Bahrain (ALBA), the state-owned aluminum smelter, recently became the largest single-site aluminum smelter outside of China with the November 2019 inauguration of its expansion."

For further reading:

Largest Middle Eastern maritime exercise kicks off in Bahrain | February 1, 2022

"The biggest maritime exercise in the Middle East and the largest-scale unmanned maritime exercise in the world kicked off on January 31 during a ceremony at the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, the North American force said in a statement on Monday. 9,000 personnel and up to 50 ships from 60 countries and international organizations and more than 80 unmanned systems from 10 countries are participating in the 18 day event."

Link: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/02/01/Largest-Middle-Eastern-maritime-exercise-kicks-off-in-Bahrain

Reuters: MOU to establish an American trade zone in Bahrain | BNA

CAIRO (Reuters) - Bahraini minister of industry, commerce and tourism and the U.S. secretary of commerce signed on Tuesday a MOU to establish an American trade zone in Bahrain to boost U.S.-Bahraini trade, the Bahraini state news agency reported.

Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/bahrain-economy-usa-int/mou-to-establish-an-american-trade-zone-in-bahrain-bna-idUSKBN29H2L0

Indian Express: US designates UAE, Bahrain as ‘major strategic partners’

“Today’s decision demonstrates a new level of partnership between the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom Bahrain, and represents an enduring commitment to economic and security cooperation. It also reflects their extraordinary courage, determination, and leadership in entering into the Abraham Accords,” the press secretary said.

Link: https://indianexpress.com/article/world/us-designates-uae-bahrain-as-major-strategic-partners-7148739/
Bahrain USA | Transforming Tomorrow, Together
"For over 100 years, Bahrain has been a strategic and steadfast ally to the USA – and a friend to Americans – in the heart of the Arabian Gulf. Through economic trade, cultural exchange, security cooperation, and diplomatic ties, we are strengthening our partnership. Together we are creating a more peaceful, more stable, and more prosperous future."

Link: https://bahrainusa.com/

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America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472

Twitter:
@AbdullaRAK
@NatashaSrdoc
@JoelAnandUSA
@ileaderssummit
@BahrainEmbDC

America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit.

America’s Roundtable from Washington D.C. informs, educates, empowers and challenges the listening audience about the importance to restore, strengthen, and protect our freedoms, the rule of law, and free markets. America’s Roundtable advances the ideas of freedom, the significance of freedom of speech, limited government, and the application of free market principles to solve problems.

America’s Roundtable presents in-depth analysis of current events and public policy issues while applying America’s founding principles.

America’s Roundtable radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America’s economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world.

America’s Roundtable is aired by Lanser Broadcasting Corporation on 96.5 FM and 98.9 FM, covering Michigan’s major market and the upper Midwest, SuperTalk Mississippi Media’s 12 radio stations and 50 affiliates reaching every county in Mississippi and also heard in parts of the neighboring states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, and through podcast on Apple Podcasts and other key online platforms.