Cabinet congratulates HM King, people on Eid Al-Fitr

Manama, June 11 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the regular weekly Cabinet session, at the Gudaibiya Palace today. King, people congratulated on Eid Al-Fitr HRH Premier extended deepest congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the people of Bahrain and the Arab and Islamic nations on the near advent of Eid Al-Fitr, wishing Bahrain ever-lasting security, stability, prosperity and many happy returns of the occasion. HRH Premier also prayed to Allah the Almighty to reward fasting people for their good deeds, stressing that the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan should inspire more communication, solidarity and love, a statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser, said. Late HH Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid mourned The cabinet mourned with deep grief and sorrow the late His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, who passed away recently, and observed a moment of silence in tribute for the deceased. The session expressed deep pride in the landmark patriotic contributions of the deceased to the nation, and stressed that the dedicated efforts he had exerted while holding municipal, judicial or Islamic affairs posts will always remain engraved in the national memory, affirming that the late HH Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid is among the national icons that will always be remembered by Bahraini leaders and people with reverence, respect and appreciation. Saudi King’s initiative to support Jordan hailed The cabinet valued highly the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to hold a quartet summit in Mekkah City in support of Jordan, noting that the initiative reflects Saudi Arabia’s constant endeavours to support Arab countries’ stability and development, in line with its responsibility towards the Arab Nation. The session also praised the swift and positive response to King Salman’s call, given its importance in strengthening Arab solidarity, noting that the fruitful outcomes of the summit will support brotherly Jordan. Saudi-UAE Coordination Council praised  The cabinet lauded the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council, being a living example of effective cooperation between countries, and given its role in enhancing the joint action of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The session welcomed the outcomes of the first meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council, held recently in the city of Jeddah, and co-chaired by Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. Preservation of neighbourhoods’ social features urged HRH the Prime Minister followed up on the implementation of regulations governing the sale of land and real estate in towns and villages, including the neighbourhoods of Muharraq, Galali and Zallaq and in some other villages and towns to ensure that the demographic composition and the social and historical features there are not affected, and to make sure that the investment process is not harmed. The Survey and Land Registration Bureau (SLRB) was requested to take the necessary measures, in coordination with the competent authorities. Saar village’s housing needs under spotlight  The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Housing to conduct a study on the implementation of a housing project in Saar, and to include the current housing applications of Saar villagers in the Hamala project, Salman Town and through the Social Housing Scheme, “Mazaya”. Ministers, officials urged to interact with citizens HRH Premier stressed that all service ministries should always be ready to serve the citizens, and that employees and officials have to respond to the telephone calls of the citizens and clients without delay, giving directives to intensify control to ensure rapid response to calls, as well as to quality dealing with the citizens. Regional Centre for the Green Climate Fund in Bahrain welcomed The cabinet endorsed the establishment of a regional centre for the Green Climate Fund in Bahrain. The move is in line with the statement of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, during the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, in which he affirmed that Bahrain welcomed hosting the centre. It is also in line with the government’s keenness to increase its international contributions to preserving the environment and combating climate change to reduce its impacts. The Foreign Affairs Minister was mandated to sign the agreement to establish regional centre for the Green Climate Fund in Bahrain, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, and highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and the committee chairman. New vehicle category introduced  The session approved amending the executive regulation of the Traffic Law by introducing a new vehicle category, named “Antique cars”, and adding their registration plates to the list of registration plates’ numbers. The amendment aims to regulate the registrations of five-year-old or more imported used cars. The session approved a draft edict to be issued by the Minister of Interior in this regard, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, and outlined in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and the committee chairman. The cabinet approved another draft edict to be issued by the same minister on including the registration plates of antique cars within the manual regulating the sale of distinctive and semi-distinctive registration numbers, as well as on regulating the placement of the distinguished numbers on rented cars or private cars with leasing contracts that lead to ownership.  Solar energy use to be increased  The Prime Minister gave directives to expand the use of solar energy and increase reliance on it as a supplier of electricity, as well as to adopt alternatives to make the storage of solar energy easy and economically feasible.  The session was also informed about the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)’s plans to strengthen the electricity and water networks to face the growing demand in summer 2018, rehabilitate Electrical substation and provide 308 mobile generators to be used in case of power outages. The Electricity and Water Affairs Minister gave a statistical presentation showing the decrease of power cuts compared to previous years. The minister’s efforts to improve water and electricity services were commended by the session. New passenger transit system adopted The cabinet approved a new system allowing transit passengers from Bahrain to stay in the kingdom for up three days (72 hours) rather than one day (24 hours), as highlighted in a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Interior in this regard. Five cooperation MoUs with France discussed The cabinet discussed five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) of cooperation between Bahrain and France in the fields of education, higher education, agriculture and fisheries, renewable energy and joint French-Bahraini exports, and referred them to the Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs. Amendments to Commercial Registration Law discussed  The cabinet discussed amending the executive bill of the Commercial Registration Law, as outlined in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.  Under the proposed amendment, the transactions of the companies owned by the same partners would not be affected collectively regarding applications for transaction related to Commercial Registration in case of violation by a company or a branch. Towards more flexible .BH Domain Name Registration The cabinet discussed a draft edict on regulating the registration and use of the Domain name (.bh),  The draft edict, which amends the 2008 .BH Domain Name Registration edict, and presented by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, aims to enhance the flexibility of the registration process through adopting the accredited registrar system under which registrars for the kingdom would be approved, which would reduce the operational costs on the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, increase competitiveness and improve the internet services to society.  The draft edict was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. Bill on amending Associations Law endorsed The cabinet endorsed a draft-law submitted by the Council of Representatives on amending the Associations Law. Under the bill, nominees for the membership of the boards of directors of associations and clubs should enjoy their political and civil rights. The bill was referred to the Legislative Branch, along with a memorandum explaining the government’s approval.