HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister chairs the weekly cabinet meeting
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly cabinet meeting at Gudaibiya Palace.
The Cabinet extended its congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the people of Bahrain ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Cabinet expressed its thanks and appreciation for His Majesty the King’s directives, announced during last week’s Cabinet meeting, adding that HM the King’s directives continue to shape efforts and initiatives that achieve citizens’ aspirations.
To mark Bahraini Youth Day and the designation of 2022 as the Year of Bahraini Youth, the Cabinet commended His Majesty’s support for Bahrain’s youth, who represent the present and future of Bahrain.
The Cabinet directed the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs to develop integrated plans that support the skillset of Bahraini youth.
Cabinet reviewed a memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance regarding the results of the ongoing meetings between representatives from the government and the Legislative Authority with regards to the proposed amendments to pension fund legislation; which aim to ensure the sustainability of pension funds. The Cabinet recognised the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council’s commitment to strengthening public sector cooperation across issues related to the interests of Bahraini citizens.
The Cabinet also noted draft laws amending the regulation of pensions and retirement benefits for government employees, and an amendment to the Social Insurance Law.
The Cabinet condemned the drone attacks, which targeted civilians and infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and noted that such attacks lead to the instability of global energy supplies.
Cabinet approved the launch of the Government Land Investment Platform, one of the Economic Recovery Plan initiatives, which aims to facilitate the partnership between the public and private sectors and to utilize government lands available for investment to deliver various projects and services to the public.
The platform will showcase to interested investors and developers the details of the government lands available for investment as well as the type of investment intended.
The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting with the following outcomes:
The approval of the following memorandums:
1. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU and an executive programme between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in the Sultanate of Oman to enhance bilateral sports and youth cooperation.
2. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU between the Supreme Council for Environment and The Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which aims to exchange information and develop capacities between the two countries in the environmental field.
3. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism and the Turkish Standards Institution of the Republic of Turkey, which aims to enhance cooperation in the areas of standardisation, conformity assessment, and inspections to support bilateral cooperation in the commercial fields.
4. A memorandum by the Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism on the inclusion of the Republic of Turkey to the 13 countries listed as partners for the air-sea freight service in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Companies based in these countries are allowed to apply for accreditation as operators of these services.
5. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government’s response to 4 proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives.
The Cabinet reviewed the following topics:
1. A memorandum by the Minister of Finance and National Economy regarding the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economic report including the preliminary national accounts data for the fourth quarter of 2021 and for the entirety of 2021. The report showed an increase of 4.3% in real GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2021 in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2020, with oil sector growing by 4.7% and the non-oil sector growing by 4.2%. The local economy achieved real growth of 2.2% during the year 2021 as a whole compared to 2020, supported by the growth of the non-oil sector by 2.8%.
