WIPO Director General Meets Minister of Industry & Commerce of Bahrain

Geneva, July 23, 2007
PR/2007/502

Talks between the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, and a delegation of senior Bahraini officials led by the Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr. Hassan A. Fakhro, on July 19, 2007, focused on the strategic importance of intellectual property in today’s knowledge economy and explored ways to further strengthen cooperation between WIPO and Bahrain.

The Bahraini delegation also included Ambassador Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Abdulrazak J. Zainalabedin, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Eman A. Al-Doseri, Director of Foreign Trade Relations, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Mr. Saleh Youssif Al-Saleh, Senior Commercial Attaché in Geneva, Ministry of Industry and Commerce. 

Dr. Idris applauded the achievements of the Bahraini Government and its commitment to the promotion and use of the intellectual property system. He emphasized the enormous potential of the IP system as a means of adding value in knowledge-based economies and reaffirmed the Organization’s continued support of the Bahraini authorities in promoting effective use and awareness of the IP system in the country. Dr. Idris underlined the great potential of strategic use of the IP system, in particular, within Bahrain’s cultural industries sector. He also pointed to the benefits to be derived from creating synergies between the scientific research community and the business sector to facilitate the commercialization of new technologies, particularly in light of Bahrain’s expertise in the fields of water engineering and petrochemicals.

Dr. Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla said that the Bahraini government recognized the importance of the IP system and its potential in enabling the diversification and development of the Bahraini economy. He said that WIPO was a key partner in establishing an enabling IP environment and welcomed the Organization’s continuing support in this regard.

The Kingdom of Bahrain became a member of WIPO in 1995 and is party to 11 WIPO-administered treaties including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks, the Nice Agreement for the International Classification of Goods and Services, the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), the WIPO Phonograms and Performances Treaty (WPPT), the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) and the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations.