The UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Bahrain was inaugurated on 22nd April 1996. Its mandate is to mobilize resources (finance, technology, know-how, managerial) from Bahrain and the Arab region to developing countries and economies in transition. In parallel, ITPO Bahrain has also developed the EDIP (Entrepreneurship Development and Investment Promotion) Programme, which aims at stimulating the emergence of new and growth of existing enterprises that produce goods and services for trade, provide employment and income for people, and thereby contribute to poverty alleviation and overall economic growth.