HRH the Crown Prince chairs EDB board meeting
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB) today chaired the EDB board meeting held at EDB headquarters, at Bahrain Bay.
During the meeting, HRH highlighted the key role that coordinated government efforts have played in attracting direct investments of over USD400 million during the first half of 2019, praising the work of the EDB and associated authorities in achieving these results.
HRH the Crown Prince went on to emphasise the importance of further advancing Bahrain’s economic position in line with the Kingdom’s comprehensive development, led by HM King Hamad.
In this regard, His Royal Highness stressed the need to increase cooperation between strategic partners in the public and private sectors and continue creating job opportunities for citizens by driving diversification in the wider economy.
His Excellency Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB, presented the latest economic indicators monitoring the performance of the national economy. Real GDP recorded an increase of 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2019, largely due to the performance of the financial services, oil and gas, and hotel and restaurant sectors. In 2018, Bahrain recorded a real GDP average growth rate of 2.5 percent as well as 3.4 percent growth in non-oil sectors, both of which were the highest within the GCC region.
His Excellency also referred to the Kingdom’s ranking in the latest World Investment Report (WIR) from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report highlights that Bahrain attracted more than USD1.5 billion of FDI inflows in 2018, an average increase of six percent compared to 2017.
His Excellency the Chief Executive of the EDB noted that the USD400 million worth of investments were sourced from 92 international companies across a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, logistics, tourism, financial services, as well as information and communications technology. These investments – originated from countries as diverse as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, France, Switzerland, China and India – are expected to create over 3,300 jobs within Bahrain over the next three years.
His Excellency Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and Head of the Ministry’s SMEs Development Board, highlighted the Board’s successful realisation of its Key Performance Indicator’s (KPIs) by boosting exports and increasing the number of employees at SMEs.
The Minister also updated the board on the Bahrain Exports Initiative and its recognised successes in the first half of 2019, most notably the decision by the Global Entrepreneurship Network to honour the initiative with an award for its pioneering role in boosting exports.
