8 February 2021 www.bahrainthismonth.com Congratulations on releasing your new book! What gave you the inspiration to write it, and why did you decide to focus on the effects of COVID-19? I had already been thinking about the broader issues around economic development and change, and of course the conversation across the region has increasingly shifted toward the realisation that the future of energy markets will not look like the past. With strategies such as Saudi Vision 2030 and the growing interest in economic diversification, this is more apparent than ever. Then, COVID-19 hit and the earlier agenda was no longer quite as timely, but it offered a new perspective to think about these issues. A colleague of mine suggested that I delve into how COVID-19 would affect the region and so I decided to write about it as I had a lot of the material ready, mainly concerned with how the virus is a stress test and a catalyst for change. Can you explain what exactly this ‘change’ entails? If there was any doubt that the region would have to change its economic strategy and people wanted proof that we now live in an uncertain world and we need to build a resilient, diverse and productive economic base, this is it. The way forward has actually been understood for some time, but until now the broader buyin for these changes has been coming somewhat gradually. The pandemic has brought this sense of urgency home to ordinary people and highlighted the importance of change. COVID-19 is obviously bad for everybody with plenty of disruption and human suffering. DISCOVERING THE SILVER LINING As the world continues to be plunged into economic and social difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahrain has won international praise for its response to the crisis. Kristian Harrison spoke to Dr. Jarmo T. Kotilaine, the Chief of Planning and Monitoring of Tamkeen, fresh after launching his latest book: Trials of Resilience: How COVID19 is driving economic change in the Arab Gulf. interview
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