Aug. 27, Singapore (BNA): At the “Building Bridges in ADR: MENA Meets Singapore – A SIDRA Forum” during Singapore Convention Week 2025, Professor Marike Paulsson, Secretary-General of the Council for International Dispute Resolution in the Kingdom of Bahrain, participated in a panel discussion. The panel highlighted creative frameworks and interregional collaboration while concentrating on the expanding alternative dispute resolution (ADR) organizations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Secretary General of International Dispute Resolution Council participates at MENA Meet Singapore Forum during Singapore Convention Week
Guest of Honour Murali Pillai SC, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Transport, Singapore, gave the keynote talk to kick off the event. He praised collaborative efforts by the Bahrain delegation and the Supreme Court of Singapore and discussed the growing collaboration between Bahrain and Singapore in the settlement of international commercial disputes. Professor Paulsson spoke briefly with Pillai prior to the forum session, discussing the Bahrain International Commercial Court’s (BICC) achievements. The Minister commended Bahrain on this accomplishment.
In her remarks, Professor Paulsson emphasized Bahrain’s innovative leadership in promoting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and transnational justice, as well as its influence on proposals for court-to-court cooperation with Singapore. The panel also highlighted the unusual judicial joint venture between Bahrain and Singapore, Bahrain’s pioneering position in mediation, and the GCC’s increasing sway over global business disputes.
Professor Paulsson also brought up Bahrain’s leadership in UNCITRAL Working Groups, the country’s recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), and its recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). As an example of a cross-regional judicial partnership, she also discussed the Bahrain International Commercial Court’s (BICC) growing function and its strengthening ties with the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
The session emphasized Bahrain’s leadership role in promoting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) worldwide and represented the increasing vigor of collaborative efforts to fortify ADR frameworks and establish enduring connections between Asia and the MENA region.
