Manama : His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today inaugurated the new offices of Citi Bahrain Global Technology Hub in Manama.
His Royal Highness highlighted the importance of enhancing the private sector’s role as a strategic partner to increase its contribution to the Kingdom’s development goals, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister emphasised that investing in Bahraini citizens and providing promising opportunities is an essential pillar of the Kingdom’s ongoing comprehensive development.
His Royal Highness highlighted the role of financial and banking institutions in supporting the economic sector and positioning Bahrain as an attractive business and investment destination. In this regard, His Royal Highness outlined how the Kingdom’s advanced and innovative digital infrastructure supports financial and banking services technologies regionally and globally.
HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister emphasised the role financial and banking institutions play in creating job opportunities for Bahrainis and highlighted the capabilities of Bahraini professionals in the sector.
His Royal Highness noted that the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts continue to advance by developing various plans and strategies for all sectors, and attracting investments, which contribute to the creation of new job opportunities for Bahraini citizens in accordance with the goals of the Economic Recovery Plan and Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.
For his part, Citi Bahrain’s CEO, Michel Sawaya, expressed his appreciation to HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for his commitment and support to the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector, which has contributed greatly to the sector’s development. He also highlighted how strategic partnership with Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) has strengthened the efforts in rendering the Citi Bahrain Technology Hub an employer of choice that helps build sustainable careers for young Bahrainis in the financial technology domain.
Alexandra Brykman, Chief Operating Officer for Institutional Clients Group Operations & Technology at Citi, confirmed Institutional Client Group Technology’s commitment to continuing to invest in the Kingdom’s wider efforts to expand its global footprint. She noted that the continued efforts to develop technological ecosystems and local talent in Bahrain, will contribute to greater growth of its teams, which will be supported by a strong value proposition that offers unparalleled career opportunities for Bahrainis in innovative technology domains across ICG businesses.
Citi launched the Global Technology Hub in 2021 as part of a strategic partnership with the Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and the Economic Development Board (EDB), with the goal of creating 1,000 programming jobs over the next ten years. Citi chose the Kingdom of Bahrain because of the Kingdom’s business incubator environment, which supports growth, development, and equal opportunities. Additionally, it is well equipped with qualified human resources, as Bahraini talents outperformed other regions in specialised tests and interviews in the field of programming.
The Minister of Finance and National Economy, HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Governor at Central Bank of Bahrain, HE Rasheed Mohamed Al Maraj, and a number of senior officials were also present.
