The Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on Sunday directed to prepare a comprehensive economic plan aimed at confronting regional and international economic challenges by doubling efforts to boost the state’s economic performance and enhance the Kingdom’s competitiveness.
The government’s efforts to optimize services for citizens took centre-stage of the Cabinet’s meeting, chaired at Gudaibiya Palace by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
HRH the Prime Minister instructed to complete government-funded projects on time and according to the best criteria as well as funds allocated for them.
He hailed the efforts made to open the state-of-the-art King Hamad General University Hospital commending the role of Bahrain Defence Force and the Minister of State for Defence Affairs in this regard.
HRH the Premier directed to speed up implementation of the government’s scheme to upgrade the road network and boost the kingdom’s infrastructure. He reviewed, in this regard, his inauguration of Isa Town underpass project and urged to accelerate completion of the whole Isa Town Interchange Project praising the efforts of the Works Minister and concerned officials in this regard.
HRH the Premier congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the sixth anniversary of his accession to the throne lauding the tremendous achievements made by Saudi Arabia in his era.
He also paid tribute to Saudi Arabia’s honourable stance in supporting Bahrain and serving Arab and Islamic issues stressing the kingdom’s pivotal political and economic role at the Islamic and international levels.
The Cabinet reviewed and referred to the legislative power the state’s Consolidated Balance Sheet for the fiscal year which ended on December 31, 2010 as well as the report on 2010 budget’s implementation.
The council expressed satisfaction at the budget’s implementation, boosting revenues decreasing expenditures and cutting down inflation and the budget deficit.
HRH the Premier informed ministries and government bodies who’s Consolidated Balance Sheets have exceeded allocated budgets about the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affair’s account which stated the reasons for such imbalance.
The Cabinet approved the land reclamation line at Tubli Bay which will clearly define the bay’s physical features and ensure its overall area and biological extension is preserved.
It stressed that determining the land reclamation line is a crucial step reflecting the government’s efforts in maintaining sustainable development and turning Tubli Bay into an environmental and tourism site.
The Cabinet approved the seventh batch of reports by the Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training (QAAET) which included 11 reports by the schools Performance Assessment Unit, 14 by the Vocational Education Performance Assessment Unit and 6 by the Higher Education Performance Assessment Unit.
The reports spotlighted weaknesses and strength in various educational and training institutions which have been evaluated and included QAAET recommendations to boost their performance.
The Cabinet approved The Bahrain Dispute Settlement Chamber as an arbitrator to resolve disputes which might arise from contracts and agreements signed by ministries and partly government-owned companies.
The council reviewed a report by the Minister for Parliament Affairs detailing cooperation between the executive and legislative powers.
It also approved an agreement between Bahrain and Australia on exchanging information regarding taxation and tasked concerned sides to take the necessary legal tools for that.
The Cabinet reviewed a report by the Industry and Commerce Ministry regarding the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Bahrain and the USA and instructed concerned sides to follow up on that.