A $2.5 BILLION development fund granted by the UAE to Bahrain will be disbursed over 10 years on an annual basis of $250 million, paying for projects in housing, electricity, water, infrastructure and social services, the Gulf Daily News, sister publication of Gulf Industry, reported.
A memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by Bahrain’s Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and acting director of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Mohammed Al Suwaidi.
The projects will be identified by the Bahraini government in co-ordination with the Abu Dhabi fund.
The minister expressed gratitude to the UAE for supporting Bahrain’s development process and commended the programme as clear evidence of the economic progress made by the GCC and the strong bonds between its member states.
Al Suwaidi said the grant would finance vital projects in the kingdom which enters a new phase of development as a vibrant centre for business, tourism and services.
The grant is part of the GCC Marshall Plan, through which Bahrain will receive $10 billion in aid from four countries over the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Ahmed said the Finance Ministry was also communicating with the Foreign Ministry over the final grant of $2.5 billion from Qatar.
“We have finished signing three agreements with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, and we are in direct contact with the foreign ministry to make arrangements regarding the fourth instalment with Qatar,” he said.
