On May 11-13, in Manama, Bahrain CLDP held a series of workshops on entrepreneurship and the development of small and medium enterprises for government officials, entrepreneurs, judges, and private-sector leaders from Bahrain, Morocco, Kuwait, and Tunisia. On May 11, delegates attended an Angel Investor Conference where regional entrepreneurs pitched business ideas as well as a panel discussion on the business and legal environment for start-ups in region. On May 12, delegates attended panel discussions on commercial-law framework, access to credit, and best practices for private-sector development, at an event coordinated with Tamkeen, a semi-governmental agency tasked with supporting Bahrain's private sector. On May 13, delegates shared best practices on national ‘one-stop shops’ for business registration and took a tour of the Bahrain Investor Center, Bahrain’s one-stop shop. The program is part of a broader CLDP effort to promote ease of doing business in the MENA region for both local and U.S.US companies.

On May 14, in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) conducted a seminar with delegates from Bahrain’s Parliament, Shura Council, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the private sector on the role of modernized commercial laws in promoting entrepreneurship and SME development. The seminar aimed to raise awareness of the benefits of reforming Bahrain’s commercial laws, in particular the Insolvency Law and Corporate Governance Code. US Ambassador William Roebuck and the MOIC undersecretary gave opening remarks. On the margins of the seminar, CLDP experts also met with officials from the Ministry of Justice, MOIC, and parliament members on how to best advance insolvency reform in CLDP’s future programming. CLDP has been working with the Bahraini government for several years on the drafting of new commercial laws, including the recently enacted Corporate Governance Code, Electronic Commerce Law, and Arbitration Law, as well as the pending Company and Insolvency Laws.