External statements are not part of the Dialogue and that participants may issue statements, on behalf of their own organisations, outside the Dialogue, according to the unanimous view of the participants of the third session of Dialogue.
The third session of the National Consensus Dialogue was held at Al Areen Resort Sakhir on Wednesday.
Representatives of political societies, independents from the Legislative Authority and representatives of the Government were in attendance at the session, as part of the royal directive, in the continuation of a political process to build on achievements.
The Spokesperson for the National Consensus Dialogue, Isa AbdulRahman, said that the session saw extensive discussion on a proposed statement submitted by the coalition societies.
The participants followed on to discuss two proposed versions of a paragraph to complete a point that reached consensus at the previous session: “the Dialogue outcomes are final”.
Some participants also tried to re-discuss points that reached consensus previously. The participants of the National Consensus Dialogue agreed on the following points at the first and second sessions:
– To adopt the concept of ‘dialogue’ not ‘negotiation’
– That the Government is a participant in its own right; that the Justice Minister is assigned to refer the outcomes of the Dialogue to His Majesty the King
– That the Dialogue’s outcomes will be final.
The discussions will continue on Sunday, 24th February.
The session witnessed the absence of 2 representatives of the Coalition Societies; Al Manber Islamic Society and Al Saaf Islamic Society who decided to suspend their participation for one session.
The National Consensus Dialogue is an opportunity to overcome challenges and build bridges between all sectors of society in the best interests of the nation and its citizens. The National Consensus Dialogue is a comprehensive and inclusive process for all political parties in Bahrain. It is an opportunity to back reforms and the development process. Inviting all political societies, granting the participants the right to decide the Dialogue’s agenda, setting only consensus as the ceiling of the results and ensuring the implementation of the results will be through constitutional channels are all clear signs of the seriousness of the Dialogue.
The participants in the session include Government; Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs; Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Noaimi, Minister of Education and Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, Minister of Works. Independents from the Legislative Authority, MP Ahmed Al Saati; MP Latifa Al Gaoud; MP AbdulHakeem Al Shimiri; MP Sawsan Taqawi; Shura Member Khalid Al Masqati; Shura Member Dalal Al Zayed; Shura Member Jameela Salman and Shura Member AbdulAziz Abul.
Coalition of ten societies includes Ahmad Juma; Adnan Bader; AbdulRahman AbdulSalam; Abdulla Al Huwaihi; AbdulRahman Al Baker and Ahmad Al BinAli.
Six societies include Dr. Muneera Fakhro; Mohammed Hajji Shehabi; Hafedh Ali; Sayed Jameel Khadim; Abdulnabi Salman; Dr. Mariam Al Shitti; Hassan Al Aaliand Majeed Milad. Facilitators were Khalid Ajaji and Dr. Abdulla Taleb.