Bahrain Mirror: The Government of Bahrain is to build a state-of-the-art nursing university in Pakistan's Islamabad. It will be called King Hamad University of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences, according to a Pakistani Health Minister statement issued on Wednesday (July 13, 2016).

The establishment of the medical institution is "a gift" from the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa offered to the Pakistani people, reported a Pakistani news website.

The source added that the Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, who met with the Bahraini official delegation to sign an agreement, said that this will improve Bahrain and Pakistan's bilateral cordial historical relations.

The delegation was led by Rana bint Isa bin Daij Al Khalifa, a member of the ruling royal family in Bahrain and Assistant Under-Secretary for Arab & Afro-Asian Affairs and Organizations.

The land and utility services will be provided by the Pakistan government and all the funding for construction and equipment will be provided by Bahrain, said the Pakistani Dawn website.

Tarar said the objective of the project was to improve the standard of medical education in the country and produce world class manpower in the field of medical care.

The university will cater to 2,000 students and provide 500 admissions annually.

Speaking on the occasion, head of the Bahraini delegation Rana Al Khalifa said Bahrain was pleased to support the government and people of Pakistan in establishing a state of the art nursing university. "We are keen to strengthen collaboration with Pakistan in the health sector," she said.

It is noteworthy that Bahrain suffers from a deteriorating economy, amid a political crisis plaguing the country since 2011 and steep drop in oil prices. The kingdom's budget deficit had reached 1.5 billion Dinars (USD 3.9 billion), which led international rating agencies to downgrade its credit ratings, giving it a negative outlook.

The island kingdom has launched a series of austerity measures to lower the pressure on the state budget and reduce public spending, lifting subsidies on petrol, electricity, and meat products, as well as imposing higher fees, fines and taxes.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Bahrain's military expenditure annually exceeds 529 million Bahraini Dinars (USD 1.4 billion).

Arabic Version