Bahrain economy safe from global crisis: prime minister

Dubai, Oct 9 (IANS) Bahrain's economy is safe from the global financial crisis because of the government's clear financial and economic policies, according to Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa.

In the course of a meeting in Manama, Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa and Shaikh Khalifa discussed the regional and global political and economic developments in the face of the global credit crunch, the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

The prime minister assured King Hamad that the economy of Bahrain was safe because of the 'sound and clear financial and economic policies adopted by the government over the past decades'.

Shaikh Khalifa's comments came even as mayhem prevailed in Gulf stock markets because of the global turmoil.

With markets in the region on a free fall, the central banks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait had announced interest rate cuts Wednesday.

The Bahrain Stock Exchange, which has been least affected among the key Gulf bourses, closed 2.70 percent down Wednesday from the previous day's close.

In the course of the meeting with King Hamad, the prime minister stressed on the key role the government was playing and the support it extended to the financial sector.

He said that the all banking establishments in that Gulf nation were stable.

On his part, while lauding the efforts of the country's financial sector, King Hamad called for closer coordination and cooperation among official and non-official sides to attain the country's development goals.