Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa warned on Sunday that any threat to freedom of navigation is considered a disruption to world trade and oil prices and a challenge to the global order.
King Hamad was speaking at the second session of the fifth Legislative Term of the Shura and Representatives councils.
“One-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply is launched from the waters of the Arabian Gulf, and any threat to the freedom of navigation is therefore considered a disruption to world trade, a disturbance to oil prices, and a challenge to the global order,” he said.
The monarch urged the international community to come together to take firm steps to deter aggressors and force them to respect international maritime safety laws and treaties, in order to maintain international peace and security.
He asked the government and authorities to uphold the rule of law and establish its sovereignty, by continuing to advance the justice sector, its institutions, services, and procedures.
Bahrain continues to pay close attention to the oil and gas sector in light of the major discoveries recently announced, King Hamad stated, adding that authorities will accelerate the pace of development of such projects.
A series of major development projects will also be launched, including the largest expansion of the Bapco refinery, the expansion of Banagas, the opening of the liquefied gas terminal Alba’s Line 6 project, and the operation of the new pipeline with Saudi Arabia.
“In light of our serious endeavors towards a modern, knowledge-based economy, we direct the government to undertake the development of a comprehensive national plan to ensure that we are fully prepared to meet the needs of the digital economy,” urged the King.
He explained that this could be achieved through the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the production and service sectors and implementation of necessary systems and technical frameworks. It addition, it can be attained through encouraging quality investments, in order to guarantee the maximum benefit to Bahrain’s national economy, he concluded.
