Finance Minister stresses pension fund sustainability

Manama, Oct.7 (BNA): Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa hailed the parliamentary approval of law decree 45 of 2018 on setting pension of ministers and fixing the pension bonuses allocated for members of the Shura Council, the Council of Representatives and the municipal councils. “The move is part of the measures which aim at consolidating the sustainability of the pension funds for the sake of citizens”, he said, stressing the importance of preserving the stability, efficiency and durability of the funds, without prejudicing rights. The minister commended the Council of Representatives which convened in an extraordinary session to approve the law 46 of 2018 on providing support to the Fiscal Stability Programme, commended the brotherly countries for backing the Kingdom of Bahrain. The minister commended cooperation with the legislative branch of government to continue the development momentum, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. “The framework arrangements for supporting the Fiscal Stability Programme, which was signed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the State of Kuwait and the Arab Fund reflect deep-rooted fraternal relations on the basis of unity and common destiny”, he said. He said that the endorsement of the Value Added Tax (VAT) reflects and the law on the Value Added Tax (VAT) reflects Bahrain’s commitment to the unified agreement which was approved in the GCC summit which convened in Riyadh in 2015. The minister stressed the importance of continuing cooperation to achieved the objectives of the Fiscal Stability Programme, stressed the success of the recent efforts to reduce deficit and save up to BD854 million. He underlined the more efforts would be exerted to meet the pre-set goals and save a further BD800 million, under the Fiscal Stability Programme.