HRH Princess Sabeeka receives legislators

Manama, Jan. 23 (BNA): HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of HM the King, President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), today received Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal, Chairman of the Shura Council, Ali bin Saleh Al-Saleh, deputies, heads of committees and a number of members of the two councils. HRH Princess Sabeeka highlighted maintaining cooperation with the SCW to promote various women and family issues, wishing the two councils to bring more successes to attain the set goals.  HRH Princess Sabeeka pointed out the support of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and follow up of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to Bahraini women and family files, which clearly contributed to the addition of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini women to the agenda of the Government Action Programme (GAP).  HRH Princess Sabeeka praised the legislative branch’s keenness to hold this periodic meeting to mark the launch of the beginning of a legislative term to discuss promoting cooperation and defining priorities for the next stage, including following up the inclusion of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini women in the Government's Action Programme of. HRH Princess Sabeeka noted the constant support of the SCW-Parliament Coordination Committee for women file, attaching significance to the role of the permanent committees to adopt women file in legislative branch’s meeting, calling on the committees’ members to accentuate, in their international participations, Bahrain’s effort to promote women’s advancement and their participations in the national development process.  SCW Secretary-General Hala Al Ansari gave a brief on the work strategy (2019-2022) that focuses on the integration of Bahraini women in various development programmes and the national efforts to enhance women’s advancement for sustaining family stability and raising women's contributions to the national economy by adding the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women to the agenda of the GAP.    Al Ansari emphasized on the harmonization of the requirements of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women 2013-2022 with the GAP and State Budget through five topics, including legislative, service, financial an economic, infrastructure and environment, which were the result of the consultations between the SCW and government under the umbrella of following up the outcomes of the Government Forum overseen by HRH the Crown Prince.    The Speaker hailed the SCW President’s effort to upgrade the Bahraini women’s status, as an essential partner in the comprehensive development process, affirming readiness to boost parliament-SCW cooperation to achieve Bahraini women’s advancement to assist them in taking on their national and family responsibilities. The Shura Chairman pointed out the SCW President’s role in supporting women’s issues and promoting their active participations in the construction and development process, noting women’s achievements and gains made during the prosperous era of HM the King.  He stressed the Shura support for reinforcing the Bahraini women’s status, saying the Shura-SCW cooperation would ensure turning the national strategies for the advancement of Bahraini women into reality.