Winds of change!

Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said that the Economic Development Board’s (EDB) collaborative efforts with the government over the past decade had driven the Kingdom’s successful diversification efforts.

During his visit to the EDB headquarters yesterday, HRH Crown Prince, who is also Chairman of the EDB, said that these efforts had resulted in the economy’s oil and gas sector now accounting for only 20 per cent of GDP, down from 44 per cent in 2000, and that the contribution of other sectors has risen from 56 per cent in 2000, to 80 per cent last year.

Prince Salman also emphasised the EDB’s instrumental role in attracting and facilitating investment in sectors that deliver job creation and substantial economic returns. “As a result of the EDB’s contributions, a series of substantial investment projects, worth over $32 billion, will be delivered in the Kingdom over the coming years.”