Bahrain Approves 2019-22 Govt. Action Plan

Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
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Bahrain Approves 2019-22 Govt. Action Plan

Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)

The Bahraini parliament approved on Tuesday 2019-2022 Government Action Plan. The plan focuses on empowering the private sector, elevating the government work-environment, enhancing investment climate, cutting down expenditures and exploiting water resources.

The government seeks to implement a four-year action plan that bolsters the Fiscal Balance Program launched in October 2018 and funded by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait.

To ensure fiscal balance in Bahrain, the program grants the kingdom USD10 billion to achieve the balance between expenditures and government revenues by 2022.

Prime Minister Emir Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa said that the parliament’s approval is a step forward towards achieving joint aspirations between the legislative and executive authorities to achieve the visions of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

In a statement on Tuesday, Emir Khalifa said that the cooperation between the two authorities will remain an anchor in national work, a backbone of development and the building on achievements, in addition to the development of services and seeking more gains for citizens.

He noted that the government is keen to interact quickly and positively with all parliament and Shura Council proposals.



Iraq, Saudi, Russia Stress Need for Stable Oil Market ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
TT

Iraq, Saudi, Russia Stress Need for Stable Oil Market ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

OPEC+ members Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed in a meeting in Iraq on Tuesday on the importance of maintaining stable oil markets and fair prices, Iraq's Prime Minister Office said on Tuesday.

The talks come ahead of Sunday's meeting of OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, where OPEC+ sources say it will weigh a possible further delay to plans to raise oil output.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attended the meeting.

They discussed "the conditions of global energy markets and matters related to the production of crude oil, its flow to markets, and meeting demand," the prime minister's office said, Reuters reported.

"The importance of maintaining stability, balance, and fair prices was emphasised, while stressing the vital role played by the OPEC+ group in this regard," the office added.

Russian energy minister Sergei Tsivilev and deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin were also present, according to a photo posted on the X account of the Iraqi prime minister's media office.

OPEC+, which pumps around half the world's oil, has already delayed a plan to gradually lift production by several months this year because of falling prices, weak demand and rising production outside the group.

Despite OPEC+'s cuts and delays to output hikes, oil prices have mostly stayed in a $70-$80 per barrel range this year and on Tuesday were trading below $74 a barrel, not far above a 2024 low reached in September.

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told Reuters on Monday OPEC+ may at Sunday's meeting consider leaving its current oil output cuts in place from Jan. 1. The meeting will be held online, OPEC+ sources said.