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Bahrain announced $17bn of new projects at the Gateway Gulf investment forum on 2 November.

The investment pipeline matches the $17bn in foreign direct investment (FDI) the kingdom has successfully attracted since the first Gateway Gulf forum in 2018. The 2025 event includes 61 announcements and 33 signing ceremonies.

In his keynote address, Sheikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, the finance and national economy minister, said the GCC is no longer just a capital hub and is emerging as a centre of creativity, sustainability and technological excellence.

In particular, he emphasised the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as Bahrain positions its economy for the future. “More profoundly, and perhaps even more transformational than the industrial revolution, we have entered the age of intelligence,” he said.

He highlighted the shift of AI “from the margins to the core, shaping how factories operate, how banks serve their customers, how ports and logistics networks move goods around the world”.

The new wave of investment projects aligns with this focus. At Gateway Gulf, Beyon Solutions and Bahrain’s Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) signed an agreement to launch Bahrain’s first AI-ready Sovereign HyperCloud, built with Oracle Alloy. Hosted entirely in Bahrain, the platform provides secure, locally governed cloud and AI services for government and enterprises.

Another announcement at Gateway Gulf on 2 November was the signing of a deal by steel producer Foulath Holding and Yellow Door Energy to develop a 123 MWp solar project under a power purchase agreement. It includes the world’s largest single-site rooftop plant at 50 MWp. The rooftop installation will feature 77,000 panels across a new 262,000-square-metre stockyard shed.