DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is expected to visit Bahrain on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, Bahrain’s news agency BNA said, without giving details.
The visit comes a day after Manama formalized an agreement with Kuwait for financial aid to support the Bahraini economy as part of an assistance package with other Gulf neighbors.
Kuwait, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, pledged $10 billion in financial aid to Bahrain last year to rescue it from a potential debt crisis.
At the time Bahrain said it expected to receive up to $2 billion by the end of 2018 as part of the package, to be disbursed over five years.
Bahrain’s finances have been hit hard by a slump in oil prices in 2014 and it has been struggling to cut government spending while avoiding public anger over austerity measures.
Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Catherine Evans
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman attends a summit between Arab league and European Union member states, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, February 24, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
