Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE Pledge $10 Billion to Bahrain

Bahrain's Financial Harbor, left, and World Trade Center in Manama. (Reuters)
Bahrain's Financial Harbor, left, and World Trade Center in Manama. (Reuters)
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Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE Pledge $10 Billion to Bahrain

Bahrain's Financial Harbor, left, and World Trade Center in Manama. (Reuters)
Bahrain's Financial Harbor, left, and World Trade Center in Manama. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the Arab Monetary Fund (as a consultative party) announced the launch of a financial balance program to support the financial stability of Bahrain.

The program includes providing $10 billion to achieve a balance between government expenditures and revenues by 2022.

The program will provide soft loans to fund the financial balance program that aims at accomplishing public finance stability and continuing the motivation of economic growth of Bahrain.

On Thursday, ministers of finance of the concerned states convened in Bahrain where they signed on the arrangements of the financial cooperation between their governments.

On June 27, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait revealed a comprehensive economic program to support the financial stability of Bahrain.

Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Control of Spending, stressed that Bahrain seeks to accomplish the goals of comprehensive development, which were put by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Bahrain's Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said: "With spending reductions commencing in the short term and the target of eliminating the budget deficit by 2022, the program secures the foundations of an economy that affords even more opportunity, more jobs, and greater living standards for the Kingdom's generations of today and tomorrow."



Gulf, EU Leaders Meet for First Summit against Background of Mideast Turmoil

European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud pose during an official welcome ceremony on the day of the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud pose during an official welcome ceremony on the day of the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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Gulf, EU Leaders Meet for First Summit against Background of Mideast Turmoil

European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud pose during an official welcome ceremony on the day of the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud pose during an official welcome ceremony on the day of the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

The leaders of six Gulf nations and European Union met for an inaugural summit on Wednesday against a backdrop of turmoil in the Middle East and struggles to find a unified position on the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, led Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the meeting in Brussels.

The summit was expected to encompass everything from visas and trade to the situation in the Middle East.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the summit was “long overdue” and added that “the economic ties between the European Union and the Gulf countries need to be strengthened."

“They are there, but they have the potential to be developed much, much further,” he said.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that “to be strategic partners means to listen to each other, to respect each other, to trust each other.”

She also highlighted the need for cooperation on pressing geopolitical issues like the war in Ukraine and that of Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah groups.

“We cannot implement our economic ambitions without security,” she said.

The 27-nation EU has long had relations with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which include Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.