NEW DELHI: Taxation is posing a challenge to closer relations between India and Bahrain and there is a need to resolve this issue for unhindered growth of business, Khaled Al Amin, Chairman of Bahrain-India Joint Business Council, Bahrain side, said today.

At the first meeting of the Council, Amin pointed out that India and Bahrain need to have closer business ties.

Taxation, he said, was posing a challenge and there was a need to pressurize the government to resolve the issue for unhindered growth of business between the two countries, according to a statement issued by Ficci.

Besides, Maram Saleh, Charge de Affaires, Bahrain Embassy, said that there was a need to work towards deepening cooperation.

She urged the Indian investors to explore the myriad areas open for investment in Bahrain and called upon members of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce to invest in India as the country offered great investment opportunities and had a high return of investment.

Speaking on Indian economy, Sanjaya Baru, Director for Geo-Economics and Strategy, International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that India was a country with regional contrasts.

He added that investors’ experience would differ from state to state and it was important for investors to deal with state governments to set up their business.

He added that it may initially appear difficult to do business in India owing to various impediments but the high return of investment would make the effort worthwhile.

In his presentation Yousef A Khan, Consular, Economic Development Board, Bahrain, said that Bahrain offered a favourable tax regime with no ‘free zone’ restrictions and 100 per cent ownership to the investors.

Nitin Joshi Chairman India-Bahrain Joint Business Council, Indian side, said that Indo-Bahrain bilateral trade currently stood at USD 1.2 billion in 2013-2014 — a jump from merely USD 220 million in 1999-2000.

He added that for trade and investment cooperation various areas like agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, medical tourism, real estate and pharmaceuticals, were being explored.

The council will give feedback to the respective governments which in turn will help them frame policies that will be conducive to enhancing trade and investment between the two nations.