A meeting on the budget for 2015 and 2016, which has yet to be announced, could potentially take place this week in Bahrain.

Information Affairs Minister and official government spokesman Isa Al Hammadi told a press conference after the weekly Cabinet session yesterday that talks were ongoing, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

"It's ongoing between the legislative branch, government and relevant authorities," he said.

"There might be a get-together with them in the next few days before the official handing over of the budget, but this is unconfirmed.

"There has been talk in that direction that we hope turns into reality."

He added that expats who overstay their visas will be offered leniency if they are in dire straits.

"Expats, in certain cases, may be exempted from paying passport fees upon leaving Bahrain (if they have overstayed their visa) on humanitarian grounds," he said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a decision to allocate land in Hamad Town for a school and sports centre, as well as a suq and mall.

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa also directed authorities to follow up on a new Health Centre in Riffa due to an increase in residents.

Al Hammadi added that a branch of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, which was established in the US in 1957, would be opened in Bahrain. - TradeArabia News Service