Gudaibia Palace: The cabinet has welcomed the outcomes of the GCC-US Summit, held recently in Camp David, noting that they will consolidate the existing “strategic partnership” between the two sides.
Chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa at the Gudaibiya Palace today, the cabinet said the summit would also enhance GCC-US rapprochement and joint stances vis-à-vis various regional issues, contribute to building deeper bilateral relations and pave the way for more solid cooperation in all fields that serve their common interests, mainly regarding the reinforcement of security and stability.
Following the session, the Secretary-General of the Cabinet Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser stated that HRH the Prime Minister had issued directives to stimulate the private sector and encourage it to organise and host more specialised exhibitions that promote the exhibitions industry in the kingdom and increase its contributions to the national economy.
HRH Premier lauded the excellent organisation of the gulfBID annual expo for construction (gulfBID 2015), held recently under his patronage, noting that the massive and effective participation reflects its success, and supports the government’s policies aiming to create opportunities for GCC and international investments, and make Bahrain a regional real estate hub.
HRH Premier was briefed on action taken thus far on the relocation of the aviation fuel depots from Arad area to the Bahrain International Airport.
The Energy Minister updated the session on the procedures taken so far to register a national company, co-owned by the NOGA Holding and the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), to build and manage the new tanks. He also updated the session on the procedures to put the required engineering designs of the new depots to tender.
HRH Premier instructed the Housing Ministry to expedite the distribution of the units of the Arad Housing projects, located in Bloc 242, and directed the ministry to coordinate with the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) to install the needed electricity equipment as soon as possible ahead of the distribution process.
HRH the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to adopt a more effective mechanism to collect service fees among ministries to avoid delays in implementing government projects, in coordination with the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditures.
On education, the session approved a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training (QQA) in Bahrain and the Scottish Qualification and Credit Framework (SCQF).
On energy, the cabinet took note of the on-going preparations to meet the growing demand for electricity during the summer, and avoid any power and water outages, following a memorandum submitted by the Energy Minister on efforts to improve the production, transfer and distribution of electricity and water.
The session also approved a proposal to speed up the removal of wooden posts for lighting and the high-pressure electricity lines in Bu Kawara area in East Riffa and replace them by underground ones.
The financial situation in the kingdom also took centre stage during the session. The cabinet discussed a number of initiatives and programmes to improve the country’s financial status and contribute to addressing the financial challenges, which include reducing the estimated deficit and public debt.