Bahrain has an economic plan in place that aims to invest nearly $ 30 billion in strategic projects to fuel post-coronavirus growth, boost jobs for citizens and attract foreign investment.

In line with the multi-year plan, the government has adopted cost-rationalization measures, including an increase in VAT to 10 percent, Bahrain’s state-run news agency said on Sunday. The move is expected to help the island kingdom balance its budget by 2024.

It aims to create more than 20,000 jobs for citizens per year until 2024 and to train 10,000 more through its Tamkeen program. The government also unveiled details of an initiative that aims to attract $ 2.5 billion in foreign direct investment by 2023.

“The rapid health and economic measures taken by the government throughout Covid-19 have laid the foundations for the recovery, as evidenced by real growth of 5.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year,” said Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa. Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy of Bahrain.

“The kingdom is emerging from the pandemic with reasons to be very optimistic, and the plan announced today aims to boost the recovery.

“The plan is also a concrete statement of our intention to achieve a balanced budget by 2024 and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability, with eight new spending and revenue initiatives complementing our broader improvements in economic competitiveness. . “

Bahrain’s economy shrank 5.4% last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, due to a sharp contraction in non-oil production.

The country, the smallest of six members of the GCC economic bloc, is expected to grow its economy by 3.3% this year thanks to its swift policy response to minimize the effects of the pandemic, the IMF said this year.

The country’s non-oil economy will grow 3.9 percent in 2021 as wider distribution of vaccines encourages economic activity, the IMF said.

Under the last plan, six new sector strategies will be implemented in the oil and gas sector; tourism; logistics; financial services; telecommunications, IT and digital economy and the manufacturing sector. The move is expected to help the non-oil sector grow by 5% per year by 2022, the government said.

Bahrain is also taking steps to streamline the business license approval process and will deploy an online portal to showcase investment opportunities within the kingdom.

He will also be launching a residency program to attract talent but has not provided details on this.

Updated: October 31, 2021, 6:48 PM