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DUBAI - Bahrain said on Monday it had narrowed its budget deficit to 404 million Bahraini dinars ($1.07 billion) in the first half of 2019 from 650 million dinars in the same period a year earlier.
The kingdom is "well ahead of its projected deficit reduction schedule", the Ministry of Finance and National Economy said in a statement carried by Bahrain News Agency.
Bahrain, which does not benefit from the vast oil wealth of other Gulf Arab states, last year released a plan to fix its debt-burdened finances after securing a $10 billion Gulf aid pledge. It aims to eliminate its budget deficit by 2022. ($1 = 0.3768 Bahraini dinars)
(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Hugh Lawson) ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))