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Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) has teamed up with the Indian state of Maharashtra to prepare a framework for future cooperation in the field of financial technology.

The EDB, which oversees inbound and outbound investment opportunities on behalf of the Kingdom’s government, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government. According to an EDB press release dated Dec 4, 2018, the objective of the MoU is “to promote FinTech in their respective market.”

The MoU was signed during a meeting between a senior EDB delegation led by Managing Director Dr. Simon Galpin and V.R. Srinivas, Principal Secretary, Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra.

Calling it a big stride forward for Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to establish deeper economic ties with India on multiple fronts including, of course, the FinTech space, the EDB noted the MoU will aim to establish greater synergies between the two signatories for an initial period of three years.

Per the MoU, the government of Maharashtra and the EDB will collaborate in encouraging delegation visits, FinTech educational programs, and cooperation between startups, financial institutions, government agencies, and universities.

’With this collaboration, we stand at the frontier of a new future. We are going to work together to unlock a new generation of talent, creativity, and innovation and be prepared for a future in which technology will be a game changer,” said Shri Srinivas, Principal Secretary, DIT, after inking the MoU.

Worth noting that India is not the only major Asian economy Bahrain is in close contact with to develop and encourage FinTech cooperation. EDB recently sent another high-level delegation to China, the second largest economy in the world by GDP (nominal), to establish new ties with various provincial governments and agencies in the fields of FinTech and financial services.