Bahrain and France Sign Civil Nuclear Training MoU After Non-Oil Trade Rose 77 Percent in 2025
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear training in Bahrain on Tuesday. It followed official talks on investment, the economy, sustainable development and advanced technology. Bahrain’s non-oil trade with France rose 76.7 percent in 2025 to 285.0 million dinars, on our calculation from official Bahraini records.
The memorandum links Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported. It aims to build the skills “required for a civilian nuclear programme” through specialised training. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed for Bahrain. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, signed for France.
Industry, Energy and a Gulf Rail Link
The King pointed to opportunities for large-scale joint projects with France in energy, industry and transport. He named the railway that will connect Bahrain to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries through new bridges. He also congratulated the President on the first international space summit hosted in Paris. Bahrain, as current chair of the GCC, means to build on the openings it created, he said.
President Macron singled out industry among the sectors to expand, including cooperation with Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). He also stressed energy, commending existing coordination and efforts to keep energy supplies secure and continuous. The Élysée agenda lists Qatar as the President’s next stop, from the afternoon of 20 October.
France Rose to 9th Among Bahrain’s Suppliers in 2025
Bahrain’s non-oil imports from France reached 267.1 million dinars in 2025, on our calculation from the monthly records of the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA). Every dinar total in this section is our sum of those records. The 2024 figure was 130.9 million dinars, so imports rose 104.1 percent, on our calculation. France moved from 12th to 9th among the kingdom’s suppliers, on our count. Its share of Bahrain’s non-oil imports went from 2.2 percent to 4.3 percent, on our calculation.
Two aviation lines account for more than half of the rise, on our calculation. Engine parts and turbojets added 72.8 million dinars of the 136.2 million dinar increase, on our calculation. Parts for aircraft engines came to 71.2 million dinars in 2025, up from 25.2 million in 2024. Turbojets were worth 40.6 million dinars. Smaller turboprops, of up to 1,100 kilowatts, reached 35.0 million. Those three lines made up 55.0 percent of Bahrain’s non-oil imports from France, on our calculation.
France was also Bahrain’s largest European supplier of non-oil goods in 2025, on our count. Germany came next at 202.1 million dinars, on our count, and the United Kingdom at 188.4 million. A year earlier the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy all ranked above France, on our count.
Bahrain’s own goods also sold more in France. Non-oil exports of national origin to France rose 26.0 percent to 9.5 million dinars, on our calculation. Glass wool and articles of glass wool supplied 5.4 million dinars of that, or 56.5 percent, on our calculation. Unwrought aluminium came second at 2.0 million dinars, on our count. Parts for railway rolling stock added 0.7 million. Across all markets, Bahrain’s non-oil exports of national origin grew 6.7 percent in 2025 to 4,120.7 million dinars, on our calculation.
Bahrain’s non-oil trade with France
| Measure (million dinars) | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imports from France | 130.9 | 267.1 | +104.1% |
| National-origin exports to France | 7.6 | 9.5 | +26.0% |
| Re-exports to France | 22.8 | 8.4 | -63.3% |
| Total non-oil trade | 161.3 | 285.0 | +76.7% |
Annual totals and changes are our calculation from Bahrain’s official monthly non-oil foreign trade records, computed before rounding.
In the first 9 months of 2026, Bahrain’s non-oil imports from France came to 99.6 million dinars, 37.7 percent below the same period of 2025, on our calculation. Total non-oil imports fell 22.5 percent to 3,530.1 million dinars over the same months, on our calculation. France ranked 10th among suppliers, on our count.
Jet Fuel, Aluminium and Glass in the French Data
France’s own figures show the trade from the other end. In 2023, the latest full year in the French Treasury’s bilateral trade review, French imports from Bahrain rose 41 percent to 305 million euros. Refined petroleum products accounted for 210 million euros, up 39 percent. Jet fuel alone came to 193 million euros. That was 63 percent of all French purchases from the kingdom. The 224,000 tonnes of jet fuel work out at 862 euros a tonne, on our calculation. The review notes that France imports no crude oil from Bahrain.
Bahrain’s industry showed up too. Non-ferrous metals, notably aluminium, rose 61 percent to 58 million euros. Glass rose 31 percent to 17 million euros. The two together made up 24.6 percent of French imports from Bahrain, on our calculation. Glass and aluminium also lead Bahrain’s 2025 national-origin exports to France, on our reading.
France and Bahrain goods trade in French data
| Measure (million euros) | 2023 | Against 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| French exports to Bahrain | 324 | +66% |
| French imports from Bahrain | 305 | +41% |
| Total goods trade | 629 | +52% |
| French balance | +18 | -22 in 2022 |
French Treasury, goods excluding military equipment. Values and changes as printed.
On the French side, aerospace exports rose 258 percent to 121 million euros. That was 37 percent of French sales to Bahrain. The review names Airbus aircraft deliveries to Gulf Air, the national carrier. Machinery and equipment tripled to 48 million euros. Bahrain climbed to 85th among France’s customers in 2023, from 106th. It rose to 87th among France’s suppliers, from 89th.
In the French data, Bahrain’s sales covered 94.1 percent of its purchases from France in 2023, on our calculation. In Bahrain’s 2025 non-oil records, its national-origin exports and re-exports to France together covered 6.7 percent of its imports from France, on our calculation. The two series differ in year, currency and coverage.
Why it matters: The memorandum aims to build the expertise a civilian nuclear programme requires, through specialised training. The trade figures show where the commercial weight sits. Aircraft engine parts, turbojets and turboprops made up 55.0 percent of Bahrain’s non-oil purchases from France in 2025, on our calculation. In France’s 2023 figures, jet fuel was its largest purchase from the kingdom, on our reading, followed by non-ferrous metals and glass. The Treasury describes Bahrain as one of the most diversified economies in the GCC, with GDP of 47 billion dollars in 2024.
Outlook: The King’s list of joint projects in energy, industry and transport, including the GCC rail link, sets the markers to watch. Bahrain’s records for the last quarter of 2026 will show the full year’s aviation purchases from France. Those lines topped its 2025 purchases from France, on our count. A full-year French review for 2024 or 2025 would extend the French series beyond 2023.
Sources: Bahrain News Agency, Information and eGovernment Authority, French Treasury, Élysée, The Edge.
