Cabinet strongly condemns terror attacks in Lebanon, France

Manama, Nov. 16 (BNA): The cabinet has welcomed the results of the fourth Summit of the Arab-South American Countries (ASPA), in which His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa participated. The cabinet highlighted the importance of ASPA resolutions in enhancing political coordination and economic cooperation between Arab and Latin American countries, and contributing to achieving global peace, lauding the deep implications embedded in HM King Hamad's keynote speech during the summit. Chaired at the Gudaibiya Palace today by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the session praised the communiqué issued by ASPA, stressing that Saudi Arabia, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, had put in place all requirements of success for the summit. The Council of Ministers was commenting on the report submitted by the Foreign Affairs Minister on ASPA's agenda and resolutions, Secretary-General of the Cabinet Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser said in a statement following the session. The session then recalled with appreciation and pride the virtues of the late Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, HRH Premier's Advisor for Industrial and Oil Affairs, praising the tremendous efforts exerted by the deceased while holding various government posts. Then, the cabinet strongly condemned and denounced the malicious terror attacks that targeted Lebanon and France recently, stressing that they are "heinous and cowardly" acts that contravene all divine religions and human values. The cabinet offered profound condolences to the political leadership, government and people in Lebanon and France, reiterating the kingdom's firm stance on the need for concerted international efforts to eradicate "black" terrorism that recognises no boundaries or countries and does not distinguish between religions and nations. On health, HRH the Prime Minister gave directives to adopt a new strategy regarding treatment abroad. According to the strategy, renowned doctors from various medical specialties pay periodic visits to the kingdom to diagnose and treat patients. This will provide opportunities for Bahraini medical staff to avail of international expertise, on the one hand, and spare Bahraini patients the trouble of travelling abroad to receive treatment, on the other, the Premier explained, tasking the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure to implement the strategy based on the data and statistics on the diseases that mostly require treatment abroad and recruit world medical competencies to treat them here. In another context, HRH Premier directed to adopt a new system regarding the maintenance and management of parks, walkways and fishing harbours, requesting the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning to make sure that Galali fishermen's harbour is equipped with all service requirements to ensure it is used only for the purposes allocated to it. The same ministry was also instructed to complete the requirements of Jid Ali village regarding services, especially sanitation, lighting and street pavement. On economy, HRH Premier stressed the need to activate and implement fiscal policies that are in conformity with the existing conditions amid the falling oil prices. Those policies should be based on reducing expenditure, structural reforms and setting up priorities by selecting public projects that best serve the national economy. HRH the Prime Minister stressed the importance of economic diversification to reduce reliance on the oil sector, and issued directives to implement conservative fiscal policies that reduce the risks of fluctuating oil prices and develop the kingdom's financial sector to strengthen its capacity to cope with fluctuations in the financial markets. In this regard, the session reviewed the report presented by the Finance Minister on the results of the joint meeting of the GCC Committee on Financial and Economic Cooperation the Director-General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Doha recently, and referred it to the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure. In another context, HRH Premier issued directives to develop coordination and cooperation among all sides related to education, training and employment in order to increase job-seekers' chances to meet the requirements of the private sector. He also instructed to continue offering more facilities and incentives for investment projects that generate more job opportunities that appeal to the citizens. In this regard, the session reviewed the memorandum presented by the Labour and Social Development Minister on the labour market's indicators for the third quarter of 2015, which showed positive improvements. Statistics revealed that the unemployment rate declined from 3.3% in the second quarter to 3.1% in the third, and the number of Bahrainis employed in the private sector reached 6,108, which raises the average number of Bahrainis recruited by the private sector every month to 2,036. The positive indicators of the labour market were also reflected in the gradual decline of the number of beneficiaries of the insurance against unemployment, whose number went down by 6% in the third quarter compared to the second, as well as of the number of offered jobs which reached 6,174, marking an increase of 17%. Regarding preparations to host the fifth Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS 2015), HRH Premier instructed all relevant sides to provide all requirements and remove all obstacles to ensure the success of such a prestigious world event. On telecommunications, the session approved a draft law on international roaming fees in GCC countries, approved by the GCC Ministerial Committee for Post, Telecommunications and IT. Under the draft law, all licensed operators in the kingdom have to be committed to the international roaming tariffs approved by the GCC panel regarding voice calls, SMS and data. The session was also informed about a report regarding the kingdom's efforts to honour its commitment towards the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and ratification of the Kyoto protocol. The report highlighted Bahrain's efforts to reduce emissions and measures to adapt to climate change. The session reviewed the recommendations made by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs and presented by Deputy Premier and the panel's chairman Jawad bin Salim Al-Arayad on the report prepared by the Supreme Council for Environment. The cabinet also discussed a draft resolution on the fees levied on veterinary and agricultural services provided by the Agricultural Affairs and Marine Wealth Directorate at the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. The session reviewed the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure, chaired by Deputy Premier Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, and referred it to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The session also discussed re-structuring the National Committee for unified purchase of medications and medical requirements and increasing its duties. A draft law in this regard was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure. The cabinet also discussed a draft air transport agreement between Bahrain and Georgia, and referred it to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, following a presentation by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications in this regard. The session also discussed two proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives, and approved the government 's reply to them, as proposed by theMinisterial Committee for Legal Affairs. The proposals included the investments of the companies which are affiliated with the General Organisation for Social Insurance and the building of model primary school in Sanabis.