Contacts:
In Washington: Dina El Naggar (202) 473-3245
Delnaggar@worldbank.org Washington February 7, 2007-World Bank Managing Director, Mr. Juan José Daboub, joined by World Bank Executive Director for Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Mr. Merza Hasan, and World Bank Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Region, Ms. Daniela Gressani concluded a 2-day visit to Bahrain. The World Bank delegation met with H.H. Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, and H.E. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister. The World Bank delegation praised Bahrain’s efforts to diversify the economy, improve transparency, and create the right incentives for the private sector to invest and generate employment. The World Bank is currently supporting Bahrain’s program for economic and social development through a Technical Cooperation Program. For the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, Bahrain represents an important partner in the region. Recently, the IFC invested US$200 million in the Ahli United Bank of Bahrain to support their regional expansion plan. “We are proud of the partnership and the growing scope of cooperation between the World Bank Group and the Kingdom of Bahrain,” said Mr. Daboub. “As a global institution, this is an opportunity to learn from Bahrain’s experience and share what we have learnt through our work in other parts of the world. It is also an opportunity for the Kingdom to consider participating in IDA and support the development efforts in developing countries that could benefit from its experiences,”he added. During his meetings with the Minister of Finance, H.E. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Minister of Social Affairs H.E. Fatima Al-Balooshi, Mr. Daboub highlighted the importance of deepening structural reforms, fiscal sustainability and capacity building. In Bahrain, unemployment represents an important challenge where government efforts are focused on increasing productivity, as well as demand for the employment of nationals through incentives including insurance and social protection schemes. “We have learnt- through our experience in other countries- that participation, transparency and effective communication are key to the success of reform,”said Ms. Daniela Gressani, Vice President of the MNA Region. “We look forward to supporting the efforts of our partners as they move ahead with reform,” she added. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information about the World Bank’s work in the Middle East and North Africa Region, visithttp://www.worldbank.org/mna |
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