Bahrain attends 38th COMCEC session

Ankara, Nov. 28 (BNA): Deputised by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Social Development Minister, Osama bin Ahmed Khalaf Al-Asfoor, participated in the 38th session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation Of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), held here under the chairmanship of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from November 26v to 29. Minister Al-Asfoor delivered Bahrain's speech. He conveyed greetings from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to President Erdogan, COMCEC Chairman, as well as HM's wishes for success to the meeting. He also expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Republic of Türkiye for the warm welcome and the good organization of the event. He highlighted the importance of the meeting's topics, foremost of which is the provision of effective social assistance and social and economic empowerment in light of the global spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and fighting poverty. In this regard, he reviewed the experience of the Kingdom in the field of social protection, and the precautionary measures taken by the government, under HM the King's directives, citing the launch of a financial package worth more than $12 billion, devoted to supporting the national economy, and to enhancing the efficiency of the health sector in providing free treatment services to citizens and residents, without discrimination. He also highlighted the numerous measures taken to support citizens with electricity and water bills, raise the volume of monthly amounts allocated to sponsored orphans and widows by 20%, fulfill the payment of dues of beneficiaries with limited income on the date of their disbursement, and ensure that the government pays the salaries of insured citizens in the most affected private sector facilities. He also shed light on ongoing digital transformation to ensure the speed and efficiency of delivering these initiatives to the beneficiaries. The Social Development Minister also reviewed the initiatives launched by the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, including a series of well-thought-out policies and programmes directed to groups with the lowest-income and those most in need of government support, as part of the integrated social protection system. In this regard, he referred to the decision to raise the minimum level of social assistance and financial support, in addition to projects to support and develop productive families in an effort to bring about quantitative and qualitative change in the economic and living conditions of this group of citizens. In this context, he affirmed that the Kingdom was able to mitigate and overcome the obstacles and negative effects of the pandemic, recover and return to normalcy. He wished the 38th COMCEC session every success in coming up with recommendations and resolutions that would bolster cooperation among participating countries.