HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister chairs the weekly Cabinet Meeting
HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister chairs the weekly Cabinet Meeting
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at Gudaibiya Palace.
The Cabinet highlighted the importance of the outcomes of the exceptional Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was attended by a delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain, led by His Royal Highness, on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The Summit called for a comprehensive peace process, as the only strategic option to guarantee regional security and stability. In this regard, the summit further emphasised the importance of the international community to assume all its responsibilities in enforcing the decisions related to the Palestinian cause, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Cabinet commended Saudi Arabia for successfully hosting the Summit, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. The Cabinet also noted Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to support the Palestinian cause and introduce a comprehensive peace process regionally and globally.
The Cabinet affirmed the importance of the meetings held between His Royal Highness, His Majesty King Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the President of the State of Palestine, His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, which focused on developments in the Gaza Strip.
The Cabinet highlighted Tamkeen’s launch of programmes aimed at supporting 50,000 Bahrainis annually, headed by His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Education Charitable Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).
Tamkeen's programmes are based on three main initiatives: supporting new market entrants by creating promising opportunities, ensuring Bahrainis remain the employees of choice within the labour market by offering career development opportunities, and developing the private sector by expanding enterprise support schemes. In this regard, the Cabinet urged all entities involved in the private sector initiative to cooperate with Tamkeen to achieve the programmes' goals, including increasing citizens’ salaries in the private sector, and noted the efforts by the Ministry of Labour in this regard.
The Cabinet directed the relevant government authorities to follow up on the directives and implement recommendations of the National Audit Office Annual Report 2022-2023, noting the role of NAO in cooperating with government authorities and ensuring that public funds are managed according to set objectives.
The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting, approving the following:
1. A memorandum submitted by the Government Executive Committee regarding the regulation of the Social Insurance Organization’s procedures for registering and calculating end-of-service benefits to non-Bahrainis working in the private sector. This will enhance the sustainability of pension funds and preserves the rights of all its contributors.
2. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance regarding developments on priority competitiveness indicators.
3. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance regarding the development of housing services. This follows the implementation of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister's directives that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning should remunerate the Survey and Land Registration Bureau fees for the citizen beneficiaries from the “Tas’heel” programme through banks who have financed the programme.
4. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft resolution approving the Kingdom of Bahrain’s accession to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.
5. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft decision amending the executive regulations of the Commercial Companies Law.
6. A Memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the General Secretariat of the GCC.
7. A memorandum submitted by the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture regarding the acquisition of two properties which will be used for public benefit and urban development.
The Cabinet then reviewed the ministerial report submitted by the Minister of the Interior on the outcomes of Bahrain’s participation in the 40th meeting of the Interior Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The Cabinet then reviewed a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs on the accomplishments of the Electricity and Water Authority during the summer of 2023, which helped to reduce power outages and increase power restoration
