His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at the Gudaibiya Palace on Sunday.
Cabinet welcomed all activities taking place in the Kingdom to serve economical, commercial, investment, and political purposes, noting the importance of the 8th “Invest in Bahrain” Forum and exhibition which was held under the patronage of HRH the Prime Minister and was inaugurated by HH Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of the Premier.
The Cabinet expressed its congratulations to HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister, the people of Bahrain as well as to the Arabic and Islamic nations on the occasion of the New (hijri) Year.
The Cabinet welcomed the results of the recent visit of HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, to the Kingdom of Bahrain and its positive results on cooperation and bilateral relations.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa directed the relevant ministries and government entities to activate, follow up, and evaluate agreements and conventions Bahrain is committed to, in order to increase their benefits; any future agreements or conventions under consideration need to be thoroughly studied to ensure their efficiency and benefits in the Kingdom.
The Deputy Prime Minister instructed all ministries to be well informed of the services they’re offering to citizens and not spare any effort to strengthen the trust between citizen and the government regarding the services being offered by various agencies.
The Cabinet noted the importance of awareness with regard to regional and international challenges and changes, and its impacts on security and stability in the region, and emphasized that this requires a team effort and ongoing dialogue to prevent any complications and ease tensions. The Cabinet acknowledged the importance of the GCC Strategic Conference that was recently held in Bahrain
In light of the Cabinet reviewing the results of the Government Parliamentary meeting related to the implementation of the National Assembly’s recommendations (and chaired by HE Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa Deputy Prime Minister), the Cabinet emphasized the government’s continuous efforts to follow up with the implementation of these recommendations and work to ensure they are achieved on the ground. The Cabinet praised the level of cooperation between the Government and the legislative authorities in the field of increasing the punishment for acts of terrorism and protecting the community from its implications.
The Cabinet approved six draft law bills and commissioned the relevant authorities to take the necessary constitutional and legal measures to refer them to the legislative authorities. These draft law bills are: (1) a draft law bill to record births and death registration to be applied to those that take place in the Kingdom, as well as applying to Bahraini citizens when such events occur outside the Kingdom; (2) a draft law bill to ratify the framework agreement between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development regarding exploiting the grant allocated to funding Bahraini development projects by the government of Kuwait; (3) a draft law bill to approve a unified system for the GCC countries in regards to the substances that deplete the ozone layer, which was approved by the Supreme Council of the GCC in its 33rd session held in Bahrain in December 2012; (4) a draft law bill to approve a legal system on animal welfare in the GCC, which was approved by the Supreme Council for the GCC in its 32nd session that took place in KSA in December 2011; (5) a draft law bill to ratify protocols of the agreement between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the People’s Republic of China on the avoidance of double taxation and prevent tax evasion imposed on income that was signed between the two countries in Beijing on September 16 2013; and (6) a draft law bill to ratify the amended protocol in completion of the aviation transport agreement between the governments of Bahrain and France.
The Cabinet approved the cancelation of the Radio and Television Authority to prevent any duplications or clashes especially after the development of the Information Affairs Authority, the Cabinet commissioned the relevant authorities to develop necessary legal tools in preparation of taking constitutional and legal measures for this matter.
The Cabinet assigned the Supreme Committee for IT and Communications to study combining the IT sectors under one umbrella represented by one minister. That was in light of the memorandum submitted by the Minister of State for Communications.
The Cabinet commissioned the Civil Service Council to consider correcting and amending some of the names of the government authorities and ministries to more appropriate names with the specialty and organizational structure in addition to studying the dependence of some entities based on its tasks and administrative structure.
The Cabinet discussed four suggestions and approved three of them related to improving Al Malkiya’s beach recreational area, taking advantage of the expertise of retired consultant physicians, and one related to diabetic children.
In the Ministerial reports section, the Minister of Social Development informed the Cabinet of the activities related to Social Entrepreneurship Week inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. Also, the Minister of Culture informed the Cabinet about the results of the Ministerial Arab Council for Tourism Conference; while the Minister of Health informed the Cabinet of Regional Committee for Eastern Mediterranean in Muscat. Lastly, the Minister Industry and Commerce informed the Cabinet of the activities related to the 8th Invest in Bahrain Forum.