Bahrain-Kuwait Agreement to Support Fiscal Balance Program

Locals and visitors are seen shopping in downtown Manama, Bahrain, February 26, 2019. The picture was taken on February 26, 2019. Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Locals and visitors are seen shopping in downtown Manama, Bahrain, February 26, 2019. The picture was taken on February 26, 2019. Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Bahrain-Kuwait Agreement to Support Fiscal Balance Program

Locals and visitors are seen shopping in downtown Manama, Bahrain, February 26, 2019. The picture was taken on February 26, 2019. Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Locals and visitors are seen shopping in downtown Manama, Bahrain, February 26, 2019. The picture was taken on February 26, 2019. Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Kuwait's Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday the signing of a fiscal balance program with the Ministry of Finance & National Economy (MOFNE) in Bahrain.

The agreement comes as part of several measures to support the economic reforms in Bahrain, and aims at strengthening the financial and economic rules of the GCC countries, Kuwait's ministry said in a statement.

Arab Monetary Fund and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development observed the signing of the agreement.

In Oct, Kuwait – along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia – announced a USD10 billion financial aid package to Bahrain to prevent the country from falling into a debt crisis. After that, Bahrain announced a program to regulate the financial conditions of the country due to the drop in oil prices and the imbalance between expenditures and revenues of the public treasury.

Bahrain’s economy is expected to grow around 1.8 percent in 2019, like last year, the International Monetary Fund said in March in 2018. The program, together with the USD10 billion in aid, “marks a major step in Bahrain’s reform agenda and has alleviated near-term financing constraints,” the IMF said in a statement following its recent visit to the country.

Bahrain’s budget deficit fell to 11.7 percent of GDP last year from 14.2 percent in 2017, partly because of higher oil prices, cuts in utility subsidies, and new excise taxes, the IMF estimated.



China Retaliates to EU Ban with Import Restrictions on Medical Devices

People walk along Qianmen promenade in Beijing on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People walk along Qianmen promenade in Beijing on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
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China Retaliates to EU Ban with Import Restrictions on Medical Devices

People walk along Qianmen promenade in Beijing on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People walk along Qianmen promenade in Beijing on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)

China's finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million yuan ($6.3 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month.

Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc.

The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth 60 billion euros ($70 billion) or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China.

The measure announced by the European Commission was the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which entered into force in 2022 and is designed to ensure reciprocal market access.

China's countermeasures were expected after its commerce ministry flagged "necessary steps" against the EU move late last month.

"Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers," Reuters quoted the commerce ministry as saying in a separate statement on Sunday.

"Therefore, China has no choice but to adopt reciprocal restrictive measures."
The EU delegation office in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50% of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force on Sunday.

The commerce ministry said products from European companies in China were not affected.

The world's second- and third-largest economies are due to hold a leaders' summit in China later in July.