Category: Business & Finance

The private sector plays a pivotal role in supporting development and spurring growth, said Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

He underscored the importance of building on achievements within the common GCC march, which would serve joint interests and benefit all member countries.

He made the comments as he met today Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Sameer Abdulla Nass and heads of the GCC chambers of commerce.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the meetings of the Federation of GCC Chambers Council, hosted by Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Manama.

The minister commended the GCC joint integration and coordination, which contribute to achieving aspirations and desired goals, lauding the role of the chambers of industry and commerce in representing their sectors.

He noted the crucial role of the private sector in spurring economic growth despite mounting global challenges.

He stressed the importance of expanding cooperation between the public sector and private sector, represented by the Federation of GCC Chambers, in order to turn challenges into opportunities and adopt initiatives that boost joint ties.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

Chief of Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Fatima Abdulla Al Dhaen today attended the reception party which was hosted by Indian Ambassador-designate Vinod K. Jacob, on the sidelines of the visit of former Indian President to the Kingdom of Bahrain Ram Nath Kovind.

Ambassador Al Dhaen stressed longstanding historic ties binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India.

She highlighted Bahrain’s keenness on reinforcing joint cooperation across all fields to serve common interests, wishing the Republic of India further development and progress.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa stressed the importance of building on common GCC achievements to attain further aspirations and accomplishments.

Receiving Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, he hailed the support of the GCC leaders which would benefit all member countries.

He commended the efforts made by the GCC General Secretariat, to further reinforce cooperation towards meeting joint aspirations and interests.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways of further bolstering economic and financial cooperation. Other issues of common interest were also discussed.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

An Egyptian cargo ship carrying some 190 tonnes of Kuwaiti aid arrived in Sudan’s main Red Sea Port on Sunday, with relief assistance running the gamut from food supplies to healthcare essentials.

The Kuwaiti aid package is a testament to the country’s “growing contributions” towards global humanitarian causes, KUNA quoted Kuwait Red Crescent’s delegation chief Khaled Al-Zaid as saying in a statement.

Kuwait will never “hesitate” to provide aid to people affected by conflicts and crises, particularly in a country like Sudan, which has long shared amicable relations with Kuwait, he underlined.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), noted the fundamental and important role of the private sector in the GCC countries in achieving the desired economic integration.

He indicated that the meeting of the heads of the member federations and chambers aims to create a periodic platform for dialogue among policy and decision-makers in the GCC countries, and the heads and members of the chambers of commerce and industry on various topics related to GCC economic cooperation issues.

The Secretary General made the statements during his participation in the third meeting of the heads of member federations and chambers, held today in Manama.

Addressing the meeting, Albudaiwi stated that Their Majesties and Highnesses the leaders of the GCC countries have stressed their support for joint GCC action to achieve the aspirations of the citizens of the Member States towards greater interconnection, cooperation and integration among them in various fields, the latest of which was their directives in the 43rd summit held in December 2022 in Riyadh, and the 18th consultative meeting held in July 2023 in the city of Jeddah.

He stressed on the importance of supporting and enhancing the partnership between the public and private sectors in the GCC member states, noting that this meeting is an opportunity to increase cooperation and integration between the General Secretariat and the private sector in the GCC, represented by the Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce, in addressing the challenges and obstacles facing the private sector in this region and working towards overcoming them, finding successful solutions, and presenting innovative initiatives that serve this field, thus contributing to elevating and deepening economic integration among the Council countries.

He also highlighted the General Secretariat’s keenness to monitor and study the challenges and obstacles facing the private sector, and to raise them to the relevant ministerial and technical committees to tackle them and seek sustainable solutions, adding that one of the key challenges is enhancing intra-regional trade among the Council countries and addressing the challenges it faces.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

Bahrain All Share Index closed at 1,941.42 points, marking a decrease of 0.46 points below the previous closing.

This decrease was due to the drop in the financial sector and real estate sector.

Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 733.73 points marking an increase of 0.36 points above the previous closing.

Results indicated that 76 equity transactions took place with a volume of 2,035,368 worth BD 760,434.

Investors traded mainly in the Non-Bahraini companies sector representing 47.01% of the total value of securities traded.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the US, India, the UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the EU have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a project that establishes a new economic corridor connecting India, the Middle East and Europe.

According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the MoU will help realise the signatories’ interests and enhance the Kingdom’s economic ties with its partners in a way that eventually reflects positively on the global economy in general.

The project will contribute to the development and rehabilitation of infrastructure that includes railways and port linkages to increase the passage of goods and services, and boost trade among stakeholders, installing electricity lines and pipelines to carry electricity and hydrogen to enhance global energy security, as well as data transmission cables for a highly efficient and reliable cross-border network.

The MoU is also envisioned to enhance economic integration and contribute to providing new, quality jobs for long-term gains, along with new cross-border corridors.

The Kingdom’s contribution to this project stems from its strategic geographical position linking the East to the West, its global leadership role as a reliable source of energy and its competitive advantages that make its participation in this project central to its success.

To bring this project to completion, there is need of sustained efforts and coming up promptly with the mechanisms necessary for its implementation within the timeframe agreed upon in the memorandum.

Source: Bahrain News Agency (BNA)

President of Al- Balqa’ Applied University (BAU) and chairman of the higher committee for annual comprehensive final exam for community college students (Shamel), Ahmed Ajlouni, announced the exam results for the 2023 summer session.

In a press conference on Sunday, Ajlouni said Shamel success rate stood at 67.7%, which is approximately similar to previous years.

A total of 4,554 students passed the exam, out of 6,722, distributed among 54 university and intermediate colleges in 95 academic programmes, Ajlouni said, adding that 10 violations were caught during the exam sessions.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Social Development and Head of the Ministerial Committee for Women Empowerment, Wafa Bani Mustafa, said empowering women is an “essential” part of developing societies and achieving national interests and goals, calling on women to optimally benefit from Jordan’s modernization steps in the political, economic and administrative paths.

Addressing a celebration held by Atlas Furniture Manufacturing Co- Richmond, to mark occasion of the 30th anniversary of its establishment, Bani Mustaf noted the women empowerment strategy in the Economic Modernization Vision (EMV) focuses on importance of partnership between the Kingdom’s public and private sectors.

Bani Mustaf also referred to the educated women’s potential locally, which is not reflected in the desired way in the levels of economic participation and labor market.

Meanwhile, Richmond CEO, Soha Bakir, said women workers in the company constitute about 30% of the total labourforce, which affirms keenness to change society’s view of women’s work in various sectors.

For his part, Board of Directors of Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) memeber, Fawaz Shaka’a, said about 35% of workers in the industrial sector are women, pointing out that this represents an “exceptional” opportunity, in light of EMV and the industrial sector’s requirements to advance growth.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Oil prices rose, by about one percent, reaching their highest levels in nine months.

Brent crude futures rose 73 cents, or 0.8 %, to reach $90.65 per barrel upon settlement, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 64 cents, or 0.7 %, to reach $87.51 upon settlement.

US West Texas Intermediate crude oil also recorded its highest closing level since yesterday, Wednesday, when it recorded the highest level since last November.

Over the course of the week, both crude oils rose by about 2%, after Brent crude rose last week by about 5%, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by about 7%.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency