Bahrain Smart Cities & Digital Economy: Bahrain pushed ahead with its smart and sustainable urban agenda, with the Smart Cities Summit highlighting AI-enabled services, a “Cloud First” approach, and plans to test AI-powered surveillance cameras across more than 200 public sites to curb littering and vandalism. Youth & Skills Pipeline: Youth City 2030 returns on July 12 with a record 256 training programmes and 10,650 opportunities, while Tamkeen-backed initiatives continue to expand youth employability. Islamic Finance Standard: AAOIFI approved FAS 54 on “Direct Costs” for Sharia-compliant contracts, aiming to harmonise accounting and improve transparency across Islamic finance. Bahrain Bourse Momentum: The Bahrain Bourse All Share Index rose 3.2% in June, led by materials and finance, as investors rotated into heavyweight names. Retail Banking Recognition: National Bank of Bahrain was named Bahrain’s Best Retail Bank for a fifth straight year, citing digital loan origination and customer-focused housing and SME support. Fuel Prices Update: Bahrain’s Fuel Pricing and Monitoring Committee set July rates for Jayyid, Mumtaz, Super and diesel, keeping diesel subsidies for fishermen. Regional Energy & Trade Risk: With US-Iran talks ongoing but fragile, oil and shipping uncertainty remains a live issue for Gulf commerce, including Hormuz transit and LNG supply planning. MENA Pharma Deal: Daewoong signed a W145.2bn Envlo export deal with Acino to launch its diabetes drug across Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and Egypt.