Bahrain to study move to link nationality with investment

The cabinet at its meeting yesterday decided to set up a committee to study the nationality law and its relation to investors, besides approving three new higher educational projects by the private sector at a cost of BD 10 million.

Yesterday's weekly cabinet meeting was chaired by the Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who asked to study the link between granting a permanent stay in the country to foreign investors and the investor' assets and properties in Bahrain.

In this regard, he also entrusted the interior and cabinet affairs ministries to prepare the relevant study.

It was also pointed out that this decision was taken in line with the government's efforts to encourage investors to promote the island's economy.

Late last year, the government introduced sweeping changes to its nationality law to provide citizenship to deserving people and enable expatriates who had spent a long period here, or those expatriates retired from the private or public sector, to sponsor themselves and continue their activities.

Since then, thousands of applications have been submitted to the passports affairs directorate which formulated a comprehensive plan to grant nationality to eligible applicants.

Meanwhile, yesterday's cabinet meeting also approved three higher educational projects presented by the private sector at a cost of BD 10 million, as part of the government's drive to diversify higher educational facilities on the island and encourage private sector involvement in this field.

These projects include setting up a Gulf college university, a college university and the Birla Technology Institute.

Discussing the topics to be studied at the forthcoming GCC ministerial council meeting in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Salman hailed the role played by the GCC at both regional and international levels and affirmed the importance of boosting the council's efforts to achieve its goals in the larger interests of the GCC countries and its people