Cabinet praises National Action Charter outcomes

Manama, Feb. 12 (BNA): The Cabinet has extended congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the 17th anniversary of the National Action Charter (NAC). The National Action Charter, supported by a wise royal leadership and an impressive popular consensus, has paved the way for launching a new phase of national and democratic action during which solid foundations for continuing the nation-building process were laid down, political participation in the national decision-making process was strengthened and institutional work as consolidated, in terms of legislation and supervision, the session said. Chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, the Cabinet called for the need to draw lessons from NAC anniversary and highlight the role of the national unity and the overwhelming popular vote in favour of the NAC during the referendum in optimising national achievements and gains. HRH the Prime Minister gave directives to encourage holding specialised exhibitions and events that promote and market Bahrain’s industrial products regionally and internationally and attract more industrial investments to the country, praising the Gulf Industry Fair (GIF 2018), held recently under his patronage, Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser, said in a statement following the session held at the Gudaibiya Palace today.  Tackling health issues, HRH Premier instructed to conduct a study on establishing a new health centre in Budaiya and requested the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning to determine the centre’s site and submit it to him after coordinating with the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure.  The Prime Minister was informed about the executive stages reached by the Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Specialist Cardiac Centre Project in Awali and requested the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure to follow up on the matter. HRH Premier commended the efforts of the Executive Committee, led by HRH the Crown Prince, to transfer the medical check-ups of expatriate workers to the private sector. The session was informed about the results of the Executive Committee’s initiative which has proved its efficiency in expediting the examination of expatriate workers, as it has reduced the waiting period from three months to less than a week, and led medical reports to be completed in just one week instead of one month before. Since the activation of the new system on November 19 last year, 33,000 medical check-ups have been carried out by the private sector and the Al-Razi Health Centre has completed the examination of 26,000 additional workers who had been on the waiting lists, the session was told.  The Cabinet reviewed the events and festivals during the first half of this year, expressing satisfaction with their multiplicity and diversity, which reflects the success of the government’s policy to diversify sources of income and boost the non-oil sector. Commenting on a presentation by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the session praised the massive attendance of such key events, including the Bahrain Shopping Festival which witnessed a remarkable increase in terms of participation and revenues compared with last year’s edition. The Cabinet lauded the tremendous efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and his Crown Prince, in serving Arabs and Muslims through looking after pilgrims and ensuring them easy procedures, stressing that Saudi Arabia deserves to be thanked and supported by the Islamic and Arab worlds for its unwavering dedication in serving the holy sites and keenness on providing all requirements for pilgrims to perform rituals easily and comfortably. The session discussed criminalising the publication of any images or video clips that violate the privacy of individuals through the misuse of social media or any other public means. The matter, highlighted in the memorandum submitted by the Minister of the Interior, and aiming to amend Article 370 of Decree-Law 15/1976 promulgating the Penal Code, will be referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The Cabinet approved a plan to set up a new directorate at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications.  The "Strategic Planning and Projects Directorate", to be reporting directly to the minister, will be responsible for planning the implementation of the total quality management (TQM) system for all the Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry’s directorates to ensure their compliance with all the TQM requirements. The creation of the new directorate was recommended by the Civil Service Bureau, as outlined in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and Deputy Chairman of the Civil Service Council. The session endorsed an agreement between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on air services between and beyond their respective territories. The competent minister was mandated to sign the agreement on behalf of the Government of Bahrain, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs in the memorandum submitted by the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the committee. The Cabinet approved five proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives on investment in the medical field, holding courses on first-aid and home and occupational safety for public sector employees, the kidney transplant strategy for patients with renal failure, using short text messages to remind users of some government services and parking lots at the King Hamad University Hospital. The government’s replies to the proposals were referred to the Council of Representatives as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.