HM King issues cabinet reshuffle decree

Manama, Sept. 30 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued Royal Decree 65/2015 reshuffling the cabinet and merging some ministries and departments. 1- HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa as Prime Minister. 2- HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, as First Deputy Prime Minister. 3- HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa as Deputy Prime Minister. 4- HH Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa as Deputy Prime Minister. 5- Jawad bin Salim Al Arrayedh as Deputy Prime Minister. 6- Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa as Deputy Prime Minister. 7- Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Muttawa as Cabinet Affairs Minister. 8- Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa as Interior Minister. 9- Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as Foreign Minister. 10- Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as Finance Minister. 11- Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi as Education Minister. 12- Dr. Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza as Energy Minister. 13- Shaikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Khalifa as Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister. 14- Essam bin Abdullah Khalaf as Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister. 15- Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan as Labour and Social Development Minister. 16- Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed as Transpiration and Telecommunications Minister. 17- Bassim bin Yaqoub Al Hammer as Housing Minister. 18- Lt-General Yousef bin Ahmed bin Hussain Al-Jalahma as Defense Affairs Minister. 19- Faeqa bint Saeed Al-Saleh as Heath Minister. 20- Zayed bin Rashid Al-Zayani as Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister. 21- Isa bin Abdulrahman Al-Hammadi as Information Affairs, Shura Council and Council of Representatives Affairs Minister. 22- Hisham bin Mohammed Al-Jowder as Youth and Sports Affairs Minister. His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister hailed the Royal Decree for the cabinet formation after merging. His Royal Highness the Prime Minister affirmed the merging of ministries and governmental bodies as a positive step to save expenditures and overheads as well as enhance efficient performance. The step comes as part of government vision for upcoming phase to cope with economic challenges as further merging of governmental institutions and bodies will likely continue.