Crown Prince Chairs Bahrain Economic Development Board Meeting

PR62852

MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Projects worth over $32 billion vital to the kingdom's development  

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, First

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB)

today chaired a board meeting of the EDB in Riffa Palace.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is implementing a comprehensive programme of structural

economic and fiscal reforms to further strengthen its long-term development.

The programme is underpinned by three pillars: streamlining government

expenditure; further redirecting government subsidies towards citizens; and a

series of economic reforms and infrastructure projects worth more than $32

billion to increase investment and maintain

growth.                                                                         

His Royal Highness noted during the board meeting's opening that the

unprecedented infrastructure investment due to take place in Bahrain will make

a vital contribution to diversification efforts and non-oil sector growth.

Speaking about the Kingdom's comprehensive economic strategy, His Royal

Highness stressed that a key priority within the strategy is to further improve

citizens' living standards and provide sustainable job opportunities for all,

and also emphasised that improving and modernising business and investment

regulation is crucial to facilitating and fostering entrepreneurial

opportunities.

During the meeting, Mr. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB,

presented the EDB's operational plan for 2016 and the target sectors that the

EDB will focus on over the next 12 months.

Mr. Al Rumaihi highlighted that the EDB's efforts to promote the Kingdom in

target markets - including in China and Germany - this year have resulted in a

number of significant business agreements and attracted international

investment that will support substantial job creation. The Chief Executive also

noted that continued diversification efforts have led to stable economic

growth, which is forecast to reach 3.6% in 2015, and that the contribution of

the financial services, manufacturing, and construction sectors now exceed that

of the oil sector, which contributes only a fifth of GDP.

Mr. Al Rumaihi noted that the Crown Prince's directives are reflected in the

EDB's 2016 operational plan, and that the EDB's future efforts will focus

specifically on the manufacturing, transportation and logistics; tourism;

financial services; and ICT sectors.

About The Bahrain EDB

The Bahrain EDB is a dynamic public agency with an overall responsibility for

attracting inward investment into Bahrain, and is focusing on target economic

sectors in which the Kingdom offers significant strengths.

Key areas of focus include manufacturing, ICT, and logistics and transport

services as well as other sub-sectors. The Financial Services sector in Bahrain

is particularly strong and the EDB supports in the continuing growth of the

banking industry and key sub-sectors, including Islamic Finance, Asset

Management, Insurance and Re-Insurance.

For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit http://www.bahrainedb.com ; for

information about Bahrain visit http://www.bahrain.com

SOURCE: Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)