Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said his country has a clear program to deal with financial challenges.
He pointed out that the government’s recently announced Fiscal Balance Program aims to align government revenues with economic growth and eliminate Bahrain’s budget deficit by 2022.
The Program, which has already commenced across government, is supported by the $10 billion Financial Support Agreement signed among Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait.
Prince Salman said Bahrain's challenges have been enhanced by a determination to ensure a steady pace of dealing with the various challenges, addressing them and drawing new features for the upcoming future stage.
The next stage requires more effort, the Crown Prince said, pointing out that Bahrain has a vision and a clear plan to deal with the financial challenge while the value of foreign investments will likely amount to $650 million by the end of this year.
This came during the Crown Prince’s presentation 2018 Government Forum, which was held Sunday under the auspices of Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
The Bahraini Crown Prince addressed the challenges that have been overcome, the steps, programs and initiatives that were taken within the fiscal balance program, examples of achievements during the past period and the aspirations of the next phase.
Speaking at the event, the Crown Prince began by noting that Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, launched in 2008, has been pursued in line with its three founding principles: sustainability, competitiveness, and fairness.
Despite challenges faced over the past decade, the Vision has helped to ensure Bahrain's development is based on strong economic fundamentals, with non-oil sector growth standing at five percent in 2017, and FDI forecast to be $650 million in 2018, up from $65 million in 2008.
"We are now at a stage that requires us to determine the size of the resource, develop suitable plans for exploration, benefit from this resource and make good use of it,” he said in regards to oil discoveries.
“Therefore, we must continue to work harder, meet the challenges and emphasize the existence of a solid foundation that preserves our resources for our children and future generations,” he stressed.
