Crown Prince Chairs Bahrain Economic Development Board Meeting

Manama, Bahrain (ots/PRNewswire) -

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

ots Originaltext: Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
+973-17-589-936 Email: basma.alzamil@bahrainedb.com