His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received at Sakhir Palace today, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, the Minister of Housing Bassim bin Yaqoob Al-Hamer and members of the ministry staff.
HM the King held a lunch banquet in honour of the Housing Ministry personnel. 
HM the King welcomed them, praising their dedicated efforts in implementing the kingdom's social housing policies which have been going on for about four decades to provide decent housing for Bahraini families. He thanked the Housing Minister for the unrelenting efforts to decrease the waiting lists by diversifying the housing services alternatives and working out various solutions, including mainly partnership with the private sector in urban development.
HM the King hailed the Housing Ministry's achievements to serve the beneficiaries and hand over many housing units all over Bahrain. He affirmed that developing the social housing sector will remain top priority for the government, pointing out the ambitious schemes in sustainable urban development that match international standards.
The Housing Minister thanked HM the King for his unflinching support to the Housing Ministry, describing it as an incentive to exert more efforts in achieving the royal aspirations and providing optimum housing services for Bahraini citizens with limited income. He also paid tribute to HM the King for his directives to speed up housing projects and give priority to humanitarian cases. He pointed out perpetual progress in implementing housing projects in partnership with the private sector, adding that this development stands witness to the ongoing housing achievements over nearly half a century with more than 125,000 services benefiting Bahraini citizens till this decade. He also stressed development of the housing sector since 2011, citing projects carried out throughout the kingdom. 
The Housing Minister presented HM the King with a commemorative gift.

Source: BNA