Cabinet lauds royal speech, welcomes Arab Summit’s fruitful outcomes

Manama, Apr. 16 (BNA): The Cabinet has praised the fruitful outcomes of the 29th Arab Summit, held recently in the city of Al-Dharan, Saudi Arabia, where His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa chaired the kingdom’s delegation. The cabinet, during its regular weekly session, lauded the content and themes embedded in the keynote speech delivered by HM the King before the summit, noting that the royal address embodied the kingdom’s firm stances towards various Arab issues, as well as its support for Arab solidarity. Chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, at the Gudaibiya Palace today, the session welcomed the "positive results of the Jerusalem Summit", noting that they are "constructive and fruitful" in serving joint Arab action and strengthening unified Arab stances towards the multiple challenges facing the Arab Nation, a statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser also said. The cabinet welcomed the 29th Arab Summit’s Final Communiqué, and resolutions aimed at strengthening joint Arab action in accordance with a clear method and solid foundations. The session also extended its deep appreciation to the Arab Summit for backing Bahrain’s measures to safeguard its security and capabilities against foreign interference in its domestic affairs, as well as for showing full-fledged support for the kingdom in facing terrorist groups which are seeking to undermine its security and stability. The session also lauded the wise management of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the 29th Arab Summit, and praised the strenuous efforts exerted by sisterly Saudi Arabia to ensure its success. Then, the session moved to development issues, as HRH the Prime Minister followed up on the sufficiency of housing services and whether they meet the needs of villagers. In this regard, the Prime Minister was informed about the procedures taken by the competent authorities to absorb the housing demands, especially in villages suffering from the scarcity of land lots. The procedures include resorting to nearby housing projects or new cities to meet those needs. HRH Premier stressed the need to take the nature and identity of the Bahraini society, which are reflected by the prevailing social fabric in villages and towns, into account while implementing new housing projects. In this context, the Prime Minister requested the Housing Ministry to meet the housing needs of the Sanabis villagers, especially the older one, in the nearby housing projects and the Northern City.  While reviewing the memoranda on its agenda, the session approved a draft-law on amending the Traffic Law to allow for more out-of-court settlement cases, including cases of crossing the traffic signals and exceeding the prescribed speed limits resulting in no deaths or injuries, misusing vehicle registration plates or failing to place them in the correct place, in addition to cases stipulated in the current law. Aiming to ensure easy procedures for the citizens and residents, the bill on amending some provisions of Law 23/2014, highlighted in a memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, was referred to the Legislative Branch. Then, the cabinet reviewed the main economic data for the year 2017, and expressed satisfaction with its positive economic indicators, including the remarkable growth in various economic sectors, thus reflecting Bahrain’s ability to deal with the challenges thanks to the key role played by the successful government policies and the activities of the private sector in pushing economic growth forward. Figures highlighted in the presentation of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism showed a remarkable 4.1% increase of the kingdom’s GDP in 2017 compared to 2016, amounting to BD 12.4 billion. They also indicated that non-oil trade volume had reached BD 7.6 billion, posting an increase of 10% compared to 2016, with Bahraini non-oil exports reaching BD 2 billion, or going up by 16%.  They also revealed that 91 industrial licenses had been issued in 2017 with a total investment value of BD 93 million.  The session discussed Bahrain’s signing of a draft comprehensive agreement that promotes security cooperation among Arab countries. Presented by the Minister of the Interior, the agreement aims to enhance cooperation among the States Parties on preventing and combating various types of crimes, arresting the perpetrators and exchanging information and experiences, as the best means to combat and address various forms of criminality. A draft-law on ratifying the agreement was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The cabinet endorsed, based on a recommendation by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and committee chairman, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency and the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Under the MoU, the two sides will exchange expertise, information and data in the field of space images applications, which will contribute to building national capacities. The session also approved a draft air services agreement between Bahrain and Brunei Darussalam, for the aim of enhancing bilateral cooperation in the field of air transportation, as well as in expanding international air service opportunities between them. The Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications was mandated to sign the agreement, which replaces the one signed between the two sides in 1990, on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain, based on a recommendation by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and committee chairman. The cabinet referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs an MoU between Bahrain’s Capital Trustees’ Board and its Moroccan Rabat counterpart on municipal work. The MoU, highlighted in the presentation of the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, aims to ensure that Bahrain takes advantage of Morocco’s experience in the field of municipal work and urban planning, as well as pave the way for exchanging expertise in this regard.  The session referred to the Legislature two draft-laws which had been drafted based on proposals from Council of Representatives, along with the memoranda including the government’s opinion on them. They included a bill on adding a new clause to Article (2) of Law 58/2006 on Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts, and another on amending Article (327) of Decree-Law 12/1971 with respect to the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law. The session also discussed two proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives on postponing housing installments, and allocating a land lot for services and facilities in Hamad Town, and approved the government’s replies to them, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, and presented by the Deputy Premier and committee chairman.