Cabinet praises servicemen’s sacrifices, hails Olympic achievements

Manama, Aug. 22 (BNA): The Cabinet has extended profound condolences to the family of fallen serviceman of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), Sergeant-Major Isa Abdulla Badr Eid, who lost his life while carrying out his patriotic duties within the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to support the legitimate government in brotherly Yemen. The Cabinet voiced deep pride in the sacrifices made by the late solider, alongside his brethren, while defending the values of dignity and glory. The Cabinet session was 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, at the Gudaibiya Palace. The session congratulated the kingdom on winning one gold and one silver medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games (Rio 2016),, enabling Bahrain to top the Arab world, and to rank 10th at the Asian level and 48th at the international level. The session praised the tremendous efforts, high sporting spirit and strong determination of the Bahraini athletes to compete fairly, Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser, said in a post session statement. In this regard, HRH Premier lauded the outstanding efforts exerted by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, HM the King’s Representative for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President, and HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, SCYS First Deputy President and President of the Bahrain Athletics Association, in supporting Bahraini athletes, and credited them with the kingdom’s Olympic success. During the discussion of the 15th Anniversary of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), HRH the Prime Minister lauded the key role played by the SCW in supporting the government’s efforts to empower Bahraini women and enhance their participation in the kingdom’s development. The session also hailed the landmark achievements of the SCW, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of HM the King and SCW President. The Cabinet condemned, in the strongest terms, the terror blast which targeted a wedding ceremony in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, and left dozens of innocent people dead or wounded. The session extended sincere condolences to the Turkish President, government and people and to the families of the victims, wishing the wounded quick recovery. It also expressed the kingdom’s full solidarity with friendly Turkey and its backing of the Turkish anti-terror efforts, reiterating Bahrain’s principled stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and its call for concerted international endeavours to confront it. HRH Premier directed the competent authorities to intensify campaigns against drivers who transport people illegally in order to protect the livelihood of Bahraini taxi drivers. Tackling health issues, HRH Premier directed to intensify inspection campaigns against unauthorised slaughterhouses and to ensure all slaughterhouses met the health requirements, in line with his keenness to ensure the safety of consumers. He also instructed the Health Ministry to spare to patients at the Salmaniya Medical Complex and other health centres the burden of long waits before receiving medical care. He requested the Minister of Health to develop a new mechanism that ensures that medical services are not affected by any emergency shortage of staff or medicines. The ministry was also instructed to pay more attention to the complaints of patients and to take the necessary prompt measures to address them, especially those resulting from administrative and medical errors. The session reviewed the procedures and mechanisms that enhance the role and work of training institutes and institutions on which the Labour and Social Development Ministry and the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) had reached an agreement, in line with the Prime Minister’s directives in this regard. The Cabinet affirmed the need to continue providing appropriate training opportunities for job-seekers, and requested the Executive Committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, to follow up on the matter, and submit periodic reports. The session stressed that the re-organisation of ministries should improve their performance, enhance their ability to assume their responsibilities and ensure that highly-qualified competencies are appointed. In this context, the session approved a proposal, highlighted in a memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and Deputy Chairman of the Civil Service Council, to re-structure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the government’s diplomatic and human rights policies, as well as regional and international relations. The session also endorsed the issuance of the executive bills of the Commercial Registration Law and the Commercial Companies Law. The first regulates the application for registration, as well as its renewal or cancellation. It also regulates applications to change information of the registration. The second was amended to make it consistent with the provisions of Decree-Law 28/2015 which allows the establishment of static companies. The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism was requested to issue the necessary edicts. The session also approved three draft-edicts presented by the minister on the commercial registration fees, fees on exercise of commercial activities and fines on delayed renewal of commercial registration. The session agreed to amend certain ministerial edicts related to the recovery of part of the costs of some services provided by the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, in the light of the recommendation made by the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure. Aiming to improve the quality of services, the edicts are related to the fees on the registration of lawyers, judicial fees and fees on the issuance of permits to exercise the real estate brokerage profession. A memorandum presented by the Cabinet Affairs Minister on the kingdom’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was discussed and referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The session endorsed a supplementary protocol to the Air Services Agreement signed between Bahrain and Turkey, included in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Transportation of Telecommunications. The Cabinet reviewed two draft-laws proposed by the Council of Representatives on amending Article 11 of the Civil Service Law promulgated by Law 48/2010, and Clause Two of the same article. It also reviewed similar draft-laws on amending Article 11 of Decree-Law 78/2006 on Insurance against Unemployment, and article 3 of Decree-Law 1/1996 on Electricity and Water. The four bills were referred to the Council of Representatives, alongside a memorandum including the government’s opinion on them.