The cabinet Affairs’ Minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed said that His Royal Highness the Prime Minister inaugurated the meeting by reviewing the talks conducted by His Highness Shaikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al Subah the prime minister of the sisterly State of Kuwait.
The cabinet welcomed the outcome of these talks and emphasized their significance in enhancing the historic fraternal relationship and bonds between both countries and consolidating and boosting bilateral cooperation in all fields commensurate with the distinguished Bahrain-Kuwait relationships and for supporting the GCC organization.
His Royal Highness the Prime Minister also informed the cabinet about the outcomes of the visit undertaken by brotherly Egyptian premier Dr. Essam Sharaf to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the cabinet cited the role of these talks in consolidating bilateral cooperation and supporting mutual relationships.
The cabinet also praised the progress in Bahraini-Egyptian relationship and the keenness on the part of both countries’ governments to develop and enhance them.
His Royal Highness the Prime Minister emphasized that the exchanging of visits between senior officials in brotherly and friendly countries has become more significant than ever before in view of the course of events and their repercussions on the Arab arena and Arab reality. In addition to contributing to a great extent in creating sturdy ground for enhanced mutual cooperation, these relationships also aim at supporting bilateral relationships and increasing the level of liaison on various matters of mutual concern as well as all Arab and international issues. Then, the cabinet looked into the memoranda included in its business agenda and took the following: The cabinet set aside part of its session to discuss the prospects of the pensions system in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The cabinet also reviewed in this aspect the actuary studies and discussed what has been achieved ever since the merging together of both GOSI and the Retirement and Pensions Fund upon issuance of the Decree No. (3) for the year 2008 regarding creation of the General Organization of Social Insurance.
In this framework, the cabinet after reviewing them has referred to the ministerial committee on Finance and Economic Affairs both memoranda submitted from the Ministry of Finance regarding the Ministry of Finance visions and views regarding prospects of the pension and retirement schemes applicable in the Kingdom of Bahrain and regarding prospective financial situation of GOSI as well as regarding the General Organization of Social Insurance.
The cabinet also discussed a number of options tabled within the framework of the studies of both memoranda in order to extend the term of the insurance funds and to maintain them in order to protect the rights and interest of GOSI subscribers and beneficiaries.
The cabinet agreed to inauguration of two cultural attaché offices for the Kingdom of Bahrain in Australia and New Zealand in order to follow-up the affairs of Bahraini students in the universities in both these countries.
The cabinet assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education to mutually liaise regarding the requisite diplomatic and technical procedures upon reviewing the memorandum submitted for this purpose from the Minister of Education which springs from the government’s responsibility to provide welfare to all Bahraini students abroad.
The cabinet decided to form a national committee to combat chronic diseases assigned to lay down a national plan extruding from the GCC uniform plan to combat non-contagious diseases which includes programs and initiatives in order to boost the health of all age groups and to study propositioning of bills of legislation which will contribute into reduction of risk factors and causes which result in catching these diseases.
The committee will be presided over by the Ministry of Health and includes in its membership representatives from the relevant government authorities. The cabinet then reviewed the memorandum submitted in this respect by the Minister of Human Rights and Social Development who is Acting Minister of Health.
Correspondingly, the cabinet emphasized the significant need to lay down precautionary plans which effectively contribute into increasing awareness about risk factors which are catalysts to modern ailments and that governmental health institutions should provide all medical and remedial services capable of curbing the spread of such diseases and controlling them in order to preserve individuals’ health and to avoid their adverse consequences on social development by boosting health instructions and awareness of hygienic lifestyles, prevention and early detection of such diseases.
The cabinet approved a bill for ratification of the agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Social Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka regarding avoidance of dual taxation and prevention of income tax evasion.
The cabinet decided to refer it to the legislative authority in compliance with constitutional and legal procedures in this regard after reviewing the recommendation submitted in this regard from the Head of the Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs.
The cabinet also discussed four motions submitted from the House of Representatives. The cabinet approved the motion regarding a snag-proof media strategy to reply to the practices of some TV space channels and websites as well as some newspapers which disseminate deceitful lies in order to blemish the Kingdom of Bahrain and its national achievements; and, also the urgent motion submitted from the Ministry of Education regarding the appropriate actions to tackle continuous chaos and attempts at stopping the education process in some schools and vital educational facilities and instigating students to do that and breaking academic rules and codes and subjecting students and teachers to hazards which resulted in extremely adverse impact on students’ and teaching staff morals and delaying academic curriculum.