Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa sent a sharp-worded message to all parties that speak negatively about the country's economic situation, including the House of Representatives.

Reports said that the Crown Prince, who has been presiding over the government since Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa left the country for treatment nearly two months ago, called on the Parliament to stop what he called "spreading a negative atmosphere about the country's economic situation".

The Crown Prince said that the House of Representatives should look at economic data before talking about economic stagnation. He wondered whether any member of the committee investigating economic stagnation holds a degree in economics.

The information stated that changing the name of the parliamentary committee investigating the causes of the economic and real estate stagnation came in response to his messages.

Al-Ayyam newspaper quoted the committee as saying that "Bahrain's economic situation has not reached the stage of stagnation, so it is not appropriate that the committee's name remains the same, because the name is not suitable for the situation and economic data."

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Samir Nass changed his negative economic outlook for 2020 after receiving a similar message.

"In light of domestic data and external predictions, next year is expected to be a difficult year and it is hoped that this will be surpassed in 2021 which will be a year of recovery for the trade, economy, business and investment sectors," said Samir Nass.

"The Chamber will intensify its efforts and interests to study and examine the conditions of the commercial sectors and to tackle concerns (...) some related to the trade stagnation and ways to overcome it."

Nass; however, returned a few days later to show optimism about the recovery of the economy in the new year. He noted that "the new year will carry more news and decisions that will stimulate the commercial sector and that will contribute to the revival of the national economy and contribute to its growth."

For his part, the Crown Prince recently praised the efforts of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy in continuing to promote economic growth in the country. During the Cabinet session, he reviewed the quarterly report for the third quarter of last year.

An official statement said that the results included in Bahrain's quarterly economic report for the third quarter of 2019 continue to increase positively according to the growth indicators for the national economy compared to the same period in 2018.

The statement attributed the improvement in "the growth of non-oil sectors to initiatives promoting economic diversification within the framework of its 2030 Economic Vision."

Since the Crown Prince launched (October 2008) Bahrain Vision 2030 and led what is known as economic reforms, the country's financial situation has deteriorated rapidly.

Large sectors in the country are skeptical about the new financial reforms spearheaded by a team led by him with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait's support under what is called the "Financial Balance" program.

Arabic Version