Cabinet lauds Saudi ties, praises GCC drills success

Manama, Nov. 21 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the regular weekly Cabinet session at the Gudaibiya Palace today. HRH Premier informed the session about his brotherly visit to Saudi Arabia, as well as about the talks he will hold with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The session lauded the special deep-rooted Bahraini-Saudi relations, as well as their strategic dimension and the two countries' unwavering keenness on constantly advancing them in various fields, Cabinet Secretary-General Dr. Essa Al-Nasser said in a statement. HRH the Prime Minister lauded the success of the joint GCC security drill "Gulf Security 1", whose conclusion ceremony was attended by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander. The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the security drill with regards to its timing, depth of the message it conveys, its strategic implications and its role in ushering in a new phase of security cooperation based on the doctrine that the security of the GCC countries is indivisible and integral, hailing, in this regard, the efforts of the Interior Minister, the commander of the joint exercise. HRH the Premier then directed to revamp the Manama Central Market, develop its facilities and improve its services to serve merchants and shoppers. The Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure was tasked with following up on the matter. On housing, the Prime Minister instructed the Housing Ministry to speed up the distribution of contracts to beneficiaries from Al-Dair and Samaheej, requesting it to develop mechanisms that effectively reduce procedures for receiving housing units. Highlighting the importance of specialised exhibitions and conferences that consolidate regional and international cooperation in the industrial field, in general, and oil, in particular, the Cabinet hailed the 10th International Conference and Exhibition on Chemistry in Industry (ChemIndix 2016), currently hosted by the Kingdom under HRH Premier's patronage. Reviewing heath issues, the session approved referring the Health Insurance bill to the parliament, in accordance with the legal and constitutional procedures in force. The Health Insurance Law draft is among the national aims to ensure the delivery of sustainable high-quality health services based on the principles of fairness, competitiveness and sustainability. The bill regulates the expected Health Insurance Fund regarding its duties, budget and management. It also determines the commitments of health service providers, as well as the administrative and financial organisation of public health facilities under this system. On education, the session approved the reports issued by the Education and Training Quality Authority (QQA), as well as its decisions to accredit two institutions, an educational one and a training one, and introduce 11 high education qualifications prepared by QQA, in line with the recommendation of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training, under the chairmanship of Deputy Premier, HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. The session also approved a draft edict on the issuance of the executive bill of the Pearl and Precious Stone Control Law. The executive bill allows specialised companies, licensed by the relevant minister, to examine pearl and precious stones, including diamond, according to specific requirements, procedures and regulations. The Cabinet approved a draft edict determining the requirements, procedures and regulations that should be met by companies that will be licensed to examine pearl and precious stones, as outlined in the memorandum presented by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, led by Deputy Premier Jawad bin Salim Al-Arayyad. The session also approved taking the necessary legal and constitutional procedures to refer to the parliament a draft law on the kingdom's accession to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) of 1976 and the Protocol amending it, and another on Bahrain's ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001. The Cabinet reviewed the positive results of the measures taken to deal with the increasing demand on electricity and water in the summer of 2016, as highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Electricity and Water Affairs. The session discussed a number of proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives. They included the confirmation of workers with temporary contracts at municipalities and municipal council. This was achieved through following the directives of HRH Premier to confirm 23 temporary workers at the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning last October, and the extension of the training period of 66 citizens, under Tamkeen's training programme, for three additional months or until they are offered suitable jobs. The session also discussed a proposal to open diplomatic representation offices in countries in which Bahrain is not represented diplomatically.