HRH Premier chairs weekly cabinet session

Manama, Aug. 10 (BNA): The cabinet has extended congratulations to His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on obtaining the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Award in sustainable development. Speaking on behalf of the cabinet members, Deputy Premier Jawad bin Salem Al-Arayad said the prestigious award was a high-profile global appreciation and recognition of HRH Premier’s crucial role in the kingdom’s progress in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), and success in using ICT in boosting all its development fields. Conferring such an international award on HRH Premier will optimise the kingdom’s achievements and consolidate its status at the regional and global levels as well as boost its ICT sector, the cabinet said. Chairing the cabinet’s regular weekly session at the Gudaibiya Palace today, HRH Premier said the global honouring is in appreciation of the landmark achievements attained under the leadership of a wise King, and thanks to the Bahraini people’s determination to take on challenges. HRH the Premier asserted that the international award is an honour for Bahrain, and that the Bahraini people’s rallying behind the leadership is the ultimate source of his pride, stressing that the high-profile prize will make him more determined to adapt all tools of technology to serve national development and fulfill the aspirations of the Bahraini citizens, Secretary-General of the Cabinet Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser said in a statement following the session. The session then strongly condemned the “cowardly” terror blast that targeted an Emergency Forces’ mosque in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and led to the martyrdom of several worshippers. While denouncing the heinous crime aimed at undermining Saudi Arabia’s security and stability, the cabinet affirmed that the terror act will strengthen the Saudi people’s solidarity and rallying behind the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to further maintain the country’s security and national unity. The cabinet offered its deepest condolences and sympathy to the Saudi monarch, government and the families of the martyrs, and wished the injured speedy recovery, reiterating Bahrain’s solidarity and its full-fledged support to the measures Saudi Arabia deems necessary to combat terrorism and safeguard the kingdom’s security and stability. The session called for concerted regional and global efforts to fight terrorism and eradicate it from its roots, being a dangerous scourge aiming to subvert the security and stability of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in particular, and the region, as a whole, stressing that terrorism is doomed to fail thanks to GCC peoples’ awareness and unity. The session extended sincere condolences to the United Arab Emirates’ President, government and people following the martyrdom of three UAE soldiers while performing their national duties within the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, praying to Allah Almighty to rest the martyrs’ souls in eternal peace and bless their relatives with fortitude and patience. In another context, the cabinet congratulated the Egyptian President, government and people on the inauguration of the new Suez Canal which it described as a landmark national achievement by the Egyptian people and a new milestone in Egypt’s history laden with dedication and accomplishments. His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s participation in the inauguration ceremony of the new canal, alongside President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, reflects the kingdom’s unwavering support to the Egyptian President’s visions and strategic steps to increase his country’s achievements and enhance its regional and international status in the economic and investment fields. HRH the Prime Minister issued an order to grant BD 360 for every pensioner with a pension of BD 700 or less in the month of August only, and requested the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the General Organisation for Social Insurance and the Military Pension Fund to deliver the grant, decided as a result of an agreement with the legislative branch, as outlined in the memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure. HRH the Premier also issued directives to develop a system to form and restructure boards of directors, boards of trustees and specialised committee in government departments within the specified legal time frames to avoid administrative and organisational vacuums and prevent any legal violations. It requested the Deputy Premier and Deputy Chairman of the Civil Service Council to put forward the necessary mechanism. The session endorsed a draft law on cancelling Article (233) bis of the Penal Code promulgated by Law 15/1976, added by Law 45/2014, and referred it to the legislative branch, as required by the Constitution and the Law. The cabinet also discussed a memorandum presented by the Interior Minister obliging institutions, commercial malls and shops owned by companies or individuals to install CCTV cameras and link them to the Interior Ministry to support the government’s efforts in maintaining security and ensuring the safety of public and private property, and requested the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs to conduct the necessary legislative study. Another memorandum submitted by the Interior Ministry on the issuance of three-month entry e-visas that may be extended once to foreign investors was also discussed and referred to the relevant sides for further study. The move aims to ensure easy procedures for foreign investors. A draft resolution presented by the Interior Minister on establishing a frequency spectrum committee was approved by the cabinet. The committee will coordinate the requirements of the frequency spectrum in the kingdom while preparing the National Frequency Plan and will put forward the necessary technical plans for spectrum resource management. The cabinet reviewed a statistical report on the persons entitled to the insurance against unemployment allowances, as well as employment and vacancies during the second quarter of 2015. Figures presented by the Labour Minister revealed that the unemployment rate went down from 3.7% in the first quarter of 2015, to 3.3% in the second quarter of the year. A total of 6,706 national job seekers were recruited by the private sector in Q2, 2015, while the number of jobs offered was 5,269 during the same quarter, the minister said. On health, the session discussed a memorandum submitted by the Health Minister on the sufficiency and adequacy of the health care and treatment services delivered by public health centres across the kingdom’s villages and cities. The cabinet approved the establishment of the Committee for the Celebration of the National and Accession Days, outlined in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Information Affairs. The committee will coordinate the celebrations and festivities to be held during the two national occasions