Manama, July 5 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, held remotely.
The Cabinet extended their congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on the decision of the Board of Trustees of Moscow State University of International Relations to grant His Majesty an Honorary Doctorate degree, in recognition of His Majesty’s prominent role in promoting peaceful coexistence and dialogue between different religions and cultures. The Honorary Doctorate degree is an achievement for the Kingdom of Bahrain which recognises the leadership of His Majesty.
The Cabinet commended the launch of the second edition of the “Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment” by the United Nations. The Cabinet affirmed that the award is an extension of the ongoing progress and development of Bahraini women, which continues to receive the support of HM the King and HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, consort of HM the King, and President of the Supreme Council for Women.
Recognising the Kingdom’s achievement in being assigned Tier 1 status in the US Department of State’s 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for a fourth consecutive year, the Cabinet commended the foundations laid by HM the King that have strengthened institutions and legislations based on the principles of justice and fairness, and praised HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister’s role in further strengthening the Kingdom’s legislative environment and developing mechanisms that support the fight against human trafficking.
Moving to national COVID-19 efforts, the Cabinet stressed that the newly implemented COVID-19 Alert Level Traffic Light System will continue to protect the health and safety of citizens and residents, adding that everyone’s cooperation is needed to ensure the health and safety of all.
The Cabinet underscored the importance of development projects in furthering the Kingdom’s competitiveness, noting the importance of expediting the construction of various projects within specified timeframes, in line with HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister directives.
The Cabinet reviewed the approved masterplans of the Sports City and the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre projects, both located in Sakhir. The city contains multiple integrated sports and entertainment amenities, including a stadium, multi-use halls, a multi-facility complex, and commercial facilities. The convention and exhibition centre includes 10 exhibition halls totaling 95,000 square meters equipped with the latest services necessary to host international events and exhibitions, a main conference centre equipped with the most advanced display facilities and a capacity for approximately 4,000 people, and several medium sized halls and multipurpose spaces.
The Cabinet then reviewed the following topics:
1. A memorandum on the performances of government agencies which evaluates the role of three systems in enhancing the efficiency, productivity, and quality of services provided to citizens and support offered to commercial and investment enterprises:
· Tawasul
To date, 247,060 complaints and suggestions to 44 government agencies have been registered. The percentage of delays in responding to requests was reduced from 59% in 2014 to 3% in 2021.
· Benayat
Between January and June 2021, 22,432 requests were submitted to the building permit system, all were answered.
· Sijilat
From January 2020 to June 2021, 433,683 requests were submitted to the ‘Sijilat’ system. In total, 99.8% of requests were completed, and only 3% of requests experienced a delayed response.
The Cabinet discussed a number of memorandums during the meeting and outlined the following:
Firstly, the approval of the following memorandums:
1. A memorandum by the Minister of Finance and National Economy regarding the annual report and audited financial statements for the Future Generations Fund for the fiscal year ending on 31 December 2020.
2. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government’s response to two law proposals submitted by the council of Representatives.
The Cabinet concluded by noting the result of participation in the ‘Mohamed Bin Zayed Award for Best GCC Teacher,’ an official trip to the Italian Republic and the Russian Federation, and other foreign trips and visits of officials to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Cabinet also reviewed the outcomes of the second meeting of the ‘GCC Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs.’
