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Thursday, January 5, 2006
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| Leading light... | ||
| By GEOFFREY BEW MANAMA: Bahrain has been declared the freest economy in the Middle East for the 12th year running. The country won praise for its honest dealings and for creating "one of the Gulf region's most progressive political systems and most advanced economies". The 12th annual Index of Economic Freedom puts Bahrain's economy at the top of the North Africa and Middle East region and places it in the "mostly free" category. The index is compiled by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal and includes 157 countries. Bahrain has topped the Middle East region every year since the report was first produced in 1995. "Because of its relatively cosmopolitan outlook, modern economy, favorable regulatory structure and excellent communications and transportation infrastructure, many multi-national firms doing business in the Gulf are based in Bahrain," says the report. It praises Bahrain's honest bureaucracy, good commercial laws and protection of investments, such as property. |
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