His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has informed the Cabinet about the written message addressed to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa by the Kuwaiti Amir, HH Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on the latest Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab and international developments, as well as on issues of common interest.
Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session at Gudaibiya Palace today, the Prime Minister notified the ministers about the letter received by HM King Hamad from the Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, pertaining to ways to bolster and strengthen bilateral relations in various fields, as well as to the current situation across the Arab region and its challenges.
HRH Premier lauded the Bahraini youth’s role, achievements and contributions to developing their society, marking the International Youth Day 2017, a post-session statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al Nasser, said.

The Prime Minister stressed that the government is constantly keen on developing the youth environment and strives to empower youth and provide all opportunities that allow them to invest their potentials and harness them for the sake of attaining more achievements and gains that would improve their present and future.

Tackling health issues, HRH Premier gave orders to the Health Ministry to coordinate with the Supreme Council for Health and research centres to prepare an in-depth analytical study on the reality of chronic diseases, notably cancer and kidney.
The study should include the diseases’ symptoms and causes, recommendations on ways to avoid them, and the necessary preventive and treatment measures, he said.
The Prime Minister was commenting on a presentation by the Health Minister in which she provided information about chronic diseases in Bahrain and the measures taken by the ministry towards them.

On development, HRH the Prime Minister underlined the importance of following up on the citizens’ needs and meeting them by ministries and government departments.
In this regard, the Prime Minister instructed ministers to carry on and intensify their field visits to various areas and to follow up closely on the progress of projects, particularly the delayed ones.
The ultimate goal of the government is to serve the citizens and provide them with the best quality services, he said.

The session extended deepest condolences and sympathy to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’ leadership, government and people on the martyrdom of four on-duty UAE soldiers, who lost their lives in Shabwa Governorate in Yemen when their helicopter was hit by a technical fault.
The Cabinet prayed to Allah the Almighty to rest the souls of the late servicemen in eternal peace and bless their relatives with fortitude.

The session also offered deepest condolences and consolation to the Egyptian President, government and people over the victims of the train collision in Alexandria, praying to Allah the Almighty to rest the souls of the deceased in eternal peace, bless their relatives with patience and grant the wounded quick recovery.

The session discussed the regulatory requirements for additions to housing units by their owners in a way that would preserve the original architectural design, colour, height and fronts of the units, and, at the same time, allow the beneficiaries to expand them without violating the regulations.
The session approved a draft edict on those regulatory requirements, recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure and highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and the committee chairman, after its legal aspects were studied thoroughly by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

The Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure was also tasked with meeting the needs of Sitra, Nabih Saleh, Duraz and Um Al-Hassam in the services provided by the government, represented by the Labour and Social Development Ministry.
The residents’ needs were outlined in the report submitted by the Labour and Social Development Minister on his field visits to them upon directives from HRH the Prime Minister.

The Council of Ministers also endorsed the Kingdom’s hosting of a regional workshop on education development policies, co-organised by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and the Arab League Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ALECSO), as highlighted in the memorandum submitted by the Minister of Education.

The session approved a draft-law proposed by the Shura Council on amending the law on municipal elections.
Under the amendment, the offences that may affect the integrity of the electoral process, as listed in Article 30 of the Law on Electing Members of the Municipal Councils, have been toughened.
The bill stipulates that a prison sentence not exceeding two years and/or a fine not exceeding BD 2,000 shall be the penalty inflicted on offenders, instead of a jail term not exceeding three months and/or a maximum fine of BD 200 in the current law.
The session also approved a draft law proposed by the Council of Representatives on amending the Cooperative Societies Law.
The amendment allows inviting members to attend assemblies by e-mail and electronic media of communication instead of the currently-used receipt confirmation letters.
The Cabinet also endorsed two proposals on activating Article 11 of the Civil Service Law and the traffic lights system.

Source: BNA