#Bahrain to Focus on `Stringent Cost Controls' to Balance Budget - Bloomberg

Bahrain to Focus on `Stringent Cost Controls' to Balance Budget - Bloomberg:

Bahrain, one of the oil-rich Gulf’s most vulnerable economies, will focus on “stringent cost controls” as it seeks cut its budget deficit and reduce interest costs while using investment to stimulate growth, the country’s finance minister said.

The government trimmed the deficit by 35 percent last year as part of a plan to balance the budget by 2022, said Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, minister of finance and national economy, in an interview Saturday with Bloomberg TV in Dubai. Cutting the deficit is a requirement of a $10 billion aid package funded by neighboring states including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

“It is very important to ensure we maintain spend where that spend drives economic growth, creates jobs or provides essential services or subsidies,” Sheikh Salman said. “While at the same time ensuring we revisit any areas of operational expenditure where we can put more pressure.”