His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has expressed pride in the address delivered by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the opening of the fourth session of the Fourth Legislative Term of the parliament.
The Prime Minister lauded the sound directives embedded in the royal address to consolidate the kingdom’s development and economic progress to meet the needs and aspirations of the citizens.

Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session, attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, HRH Premier stressed that the government will spare no effort to implement the royal directives which will be the roadmap for the government’s action in the near future to achieve the national and economic goals and bring about more landmark achievements for the nation and citizens.

The Premier gave directives to put forward the necessary practical steps to achieve the goals and directives included in the royal address, especially regarding the economy, Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Isa Al-Nasser, said in a statement following today’s session, held at the Gudaibiya Palace.

HRH Premier renewed directives to ministers to extend bridges of trust and constructive cooperation with the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives to meet the requirements of national work, develop national legislation and improve the efficiency of the government’s performance.

HRH Premier lauded the outcomes of HM King Hamad’s successful visit to Saudi Arabia, praising HM the King’s talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, in Jeddah.

The royal visit strengthens the solid deep-rooted brotherly relations between the two kingdoms and consolidates their on-going cooperation and coordination to strengthen the pillars of security and stability, as well as to counter threats and interference in order to preserve the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s development gains and protect their peoples’ security, the premier said.

The session lauded the outstanding success of the Saudi King’s visit to Russia, stressing that it was historic by all standards, given its global echo thanks to the distinguished status enjoyed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Saudi Arabia at the international level.
The Cabinet asserted that the Saudi Monarch’s visit to Russia will benefit Saudi Arabia, and the GCC and Arab countries.

The Cabinet extended deepest condolences and sympathy to the friendly US people over the victims of the heinous Las Vegas mass shooting crime which killed and wounded innocent people. It also condoled with the US President and government, as well as with the victims’ families.

While reviewing the citizens’ service needs, HRH the Prime Minister gave directives to the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning to expedite the revamp of the Sitra Central Market to meet the needs of the local citizens.
The minister informed the session about the steps required to implement the Premier’s directives regarding the Sitra Central Market.

HRH Premier stressed the importance of consolidating the principles of cooperation and creating the suitable conditions for commemorating religious occasions.
This could be achieved through stronger cooperation between the competent government entities, particularly the Jaafari Endowments, and the heads of maatams (community centres) and Hussainiya centres, the Premier said, tasking the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments with implementing his directives at all levels.

The session discussed the preliminary steps to be taken prior to the implementation of the self-management plan at government-funded health institutions.
In this regard, the Cabinet reviewed a presentation by the President of the Supreme Council for Health on a transitional plan to provide administrative and technical preparation for the implementation of the self-management of governmental health institutions.
The transitional plan, prepared by the Supreme Council for Health, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Civil Service Bureau, and aiming to improve the quality of health services and promoting competitiveness among health institutions and ensuring optimal utilisation of resources in the public health sector, was endorsed by the session.

The session also discussed a draft-law on amending some provisions of the Criminal Procedures Law to pave the way for legalising the use of modern technology, enhancing protection for witnesses, enforcing legal guarantees regarding precautionary measures against persons or subjecting them to control, as well as preventing the escape of suspects, and increasing the effectiveness of the execution of court verdicts to achieve justice and protect society.
The procedures aim to fast-track criminal proceedings in cases examined by courts and to settle criminal disputes through reconciliation and achieve justice by enforcing equal procedural rules in similar criminal cases without discrimination or prejudice to the constitutional fundamentals or the guarantors stipulated by the law and international conventions on investigation and fair trials.
The bill, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister, was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

The session also discussed a recommendation submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, presented by the Deputy Premier and the panel’s chairman, on renewing the agreement signed between Bahrain and United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) regarding the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH).
The relevant authority was requested to implement the committee’s recommendation.

The committee was also tasked with examining the Agreement on Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments amongst the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, outlined in the memorandum presented by the Finance Minister.

The session also approved, based on a recommendation by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, a draft-edict to be issued by the Minister of Finance on determining the development projects that will be exempted from customs fees.
The Finance Ministry was requested to cooperate with the competent authorities on determining the mechanisms, procedures and rules regulating the fee-exemption for development projects’ transactions and collectibles.

A memorandum of Understanding, presented by the Minister of Education on cooperation between Bahrain’s Ministry of Education and the Mohammed V University in Abu Dhabi, was also referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

The session also approved a draft-law, drafted according to proposal by the Council of Representatives on amending Article 167 of Decree-Law 54/2002 with respect to the by-lawof the Council of Representatives. The bill was referred to the Council of Representatives in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures in force.

Another draft-law on amending Article 130 of Decree-Law 54/2002, proposed by the Council of Representatives, was also referred to the Council of Representatives, along with a memorandum explaining the government’s opinion on it.

Source: Fana News