Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa
Bahrain 'has managed to strike fiscal balance'
MANAMA, October 23, 2017
Bahrain has managed to strike a balance between revenues and expenditure and promote citizens as the cornerstone of sustainable development despite plummeting oil prices, Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa has said.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to implement strategies and policies aimed at diversifying revenues, boosting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and optimizing resources, said a Bahrain News Agency (BNA) report.
The Deputy Premier made the statement as he attended the Government Forum 2017 held yesterday under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa.
The Deputy Premier chaired the first discussion session, which engaged ministers, focusing on the economic and financial issues, in addition to the infrastructure.
He underlined the government’s strenuous efforts through the past three fiscal years to adopt state budgets to confront challenges resulting from the financial situations.
He commended the role of the Executive Committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, which approved the establishment of six work teams to slash recurrent expenditure at ministries and government departments without affecting productivity.
The Deputy Premier cited other initiatives led by the government to redirect subsidies to benefit citizens only and implement the infrastructure cost refund principle.
