HRH CROWN PRINCE WELCOMES GCC GULF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, paid tribute today to the heads of state of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members for providing unstinting support to the Kingdom of Bahrain as it has worked towards the establishment of the National Dialogue.

Following the confirmation of the Gulf Development Programme (GDP) at the GCC Foreign Ministers meeting in Riyadh today, where a financing package for Bahrain totalling 10 billion USD was agreed, HRH Crown Prince said:“The GCC has shown extraordinary support to Bahrain. I would like to pay fulsome tribute to each member for the wise leadership and cooperation shown during a challenging period.

“The GCC Gulf Development Programme grant has been provided to assist with the development of Bahrain to the benefit of all citizens, to help finance a new programme of reform.“The allocation of the GCC-GDP grant will run alongside the national budget, doubling capital expenditure and will be placed under the oversight of parliament and the donor countries.  Key spending priorities will be on programmes that add value and benefit Bahraini society in the long term and on projects that help fill opportunity gaps where they exist.“Allocation and deployment of the grant will be subject to the highest levels of transparency.”

Regarding the National Dialogue, HRH Crown Prince said:”The co-operation between us is strong and the support by all GCC states for the National Dialogue has been integral as we have sought to bring Bahrain together as a unified nation to reach a political settlement accepted by all.”The GCC-GDP has been provided without any pre-conditions attached and will be drawn down over a ten-year period.