start of my speech. an encouraging feature of these reforms has been the gradual opening up of markets across the region – which will allow insurance providers to capitalize on these opportunities. in addition, the bahrain - us free trade agreement also marks an important step in deepening cross - border trade. collectively, the gcc countries now represent a population of some 35 million and the world ’ s 13th largest economy. it has also been generating current account surpluses larger than china ’ s in recent years. in short, the gcc markets offer significant potential for insurers, considering that for many products, this is largely untapped territory. to conclude, therefore, we believe that strong regulatory foundations have now been built for the insurance industry in bahrain, and that this provides a sound basis upon which its potential can be fulfilled. i wish you all a productive conference. thank you.

rasheed mohammed al maraj : brief review of bahrain ’ s financial market developments speech by his excellency rasheed mohammed al maraj, governor of the central bank of bahrain, at the tradequest challenge awards presentation and luncheon, manama, 28 april 2007. * * * your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. assalam alaikum wa - rahmatullahi wa barakatuh it is a pleasure for me to be here today, and to show my support for the tradequest challenge programme. i should like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported this initiative, be they the financial community, the schools, or the participants and their parents. programmes such as these are collective efforts, and require the support of many. however, i should like to thank in particular the bahrain institute of banking & finance and the american association of bahrain, for their efforts in jointly establishing and managing this annual competition. special congratulations are of course also due to the students who took part in this year ’ s competition, for their commitment to learning about the world of financial markets and investment. before we start presenting the students with their well - earned certificates, i hope you will allow me if just say a few words about the significance of this programme, and its relevance to the development of bahrain ’ s financial markets. bahrain, as i am sure you are all aware, has a long and distinguished track record as the leading financial centre in the gcc. today, financial services accounts for almost 27 % of the country ’ s gdp, and creates an equally significant share of high value added employment in the economy. it is no exaggeration to say that the health of the financial services industry is of strategic importance to the continued economic well - being of this country. a key element in our success as a nation in this field has been the emphasis placed on developing our own human resources. international and regional institutions come to bahrain, in part, because there is a relatively strong supply of well qualified bahrainis whom they can hire. in turn, this country benefits from the wealth that is created by these financial institutions, and the training and experience gained in the workplace. fundamental to this human resources equation, is that we have people who understand finance and develop an interest in working in this industry. programmes such as these, therefore, play a valuable role in introducing young people to the world of finance, and hopefully giving them an interest in possibly pursuing a