Saudi King Salman to visit Bahrain

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 formalised an agreement with Kuwait for financial aid to support the Bahraini economy as part of an assistance package with other Gulf neighbours.

Kuwait, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, pledged $10bn 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 $2bn 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.

Read: Bahrain sees budget deficit falling to $1.6bn in 2020