Cabinet congratulates HM King, welcomes GCC Summit

Manama, Dec. 5 (BNA): The Cabinet has extended profound congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Bahraini people and Arab and Muslim nations on Prophet Mohammed (PBUHM)'s birthday anniversary. Chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, at the Gudaibiya Palace today, the session called for the need to take advantage of the auspicious religious occasion and draw inspiration from the life of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to foster solidarity, unity and compassion among Muslims. The session welcomed the 37th session of Summit of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), set to be hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain on December 6-7, a statement by the Secretary-General of the Cabinet, Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser said. The Cabinet stressed that GCC citizens are looking forward to the much-anticipated summit to upgrade cooperation among their countries and protect the hard-won GCC achievements, especially that it is held in the midst of critical political and economic conditions at the regional and global levels, wishing HM King Hamad, alongside other GCC leaders, every success in meeting the aspirations of GCC peoples. The session welcomed the forthcoming visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the kingdom, stressing that HM the King, the government and the Bahraini people welcome King Salman's historic visit to his second country as a prominent Arab and Islamic leader. The Cabinet affirmed that the honourable stances of Saudi Arabia in support of Bahrain and its keenness to stand by it under all circumstances will never be forgotten, noting that King Salman's historic visit to Bahrain embodies the solid long-standing relations between the two kingdoms' leaderships and peoples. The session also welcomed the visit of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, to Bahrain, her first trip to the Middle East region since her premiership, noting that itaims to strengthen the deep-rooted Bahraini-UK relations. Prime Minister May will attend the 37th GCC Summit as a Guest of Honour, at the invitation of HM King Hamad, which reflects the strength of the solid GCC-British relations and the keenness of the two sides to boost them politically and economically. The session tackled development issues as HRH the Prime Minister followed up on the needs of the citizens regarding housing and municipal services. The Prime Minister gave directives to continue fulfilling the housing needs of the Nabeeh Saleh villagers. HRH Premier also directed the Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Plan to follow up on the organsiational matters of the Isa Town traditional market to ensure that the interests and livelihoods of its merchants and staff are protected. The Prime Minister also issued instructions to develop the tourism infrastructure by increasing the number of tourist resorts and facilities, and developing the logistic services that assist tourists and visitors, stressing, at the same time, the need to tighten control to eliminate any negative practices that may harm the tourism sector. The Premier's directives are in line with his belief in the importance of tourism as a key tributary to the national economy. In a related context, the session agreed to allow the ownership of certain public transport activities by foreign investors. According to a memorandum presented by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, foreign investors can own internal tourism transportation activities by 100 percent, and by 49 percent in other public transport companies if there is a Bahraini partner who owns 51 percent. The session decided to limit the car rental activities to Bahrainis, while preventing foreigners from ownership in this sector. On environment, HRH the Prime Minister gave directives to speed up the rehabilitation process of the Tubli Bay to improve the flow and regeneration of water and prevent the spread of pollutants there. The Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure was requested to study the recommendations presented in the cabinet Affairs Minister's memorandum on improving the quality of sea water and benthic sediments in the Tubli Bay, prepared in light of the report of the Supreme Council for the Environment in this regard. Referring to education, HRH the Prime Minister praised the tangible progress of the educational process, as well as the efforts being exerted to develop it. HRH Premier hailed the role played by the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training, and the efforts of the Education Ministry, praising, in this regard, the outstanding results achieved by Bahraini second intermediate and fourth primary students who participated in the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) exam. The Prime Minister was commenting on the memorandum presented by the Education Minister on Bahraini students' TIMSS' results. The report showed that Bahrain topped the Arab countries in science, ranked second in the Arab world in Maths, and topped the participating countries in the numeracy culture. The session also approved the issuance of four edicts by the Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning on the acquisition of property in Umm Al-Hassam to be used as car parking lots, in line with the directives of HRH Premier to find solutions to the car parks problems in old neighbourhoods, including Umm Al-Hassam. The session also endorsed a draft law on adjusting some fees levied on the services delivered by the Civil Aviation Affairs, as highlighted in the memorandum submitted by the Deputy Premier and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The Cabinet also approved a draft law on the kingdom's ratification of the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation, and decided to take the necessary constitutional and legal procedures in order to refer it to the legislative branch.