HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister chairs weekly Cabinet Meeting
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, held remotely.
The Cabinet welcomed the recent bilateral talks held between HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the President of the Republic of Serbia, HE Aleksandar Vu?i?, including their role in further enhancing joint cooperation and coordination across areas of shared interest.
The Cabinet commended the positive outcomes of HRH the Crown Prince’s meeting with the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, during his visit to Saudi Arabia.
The Cabinet further commended broad and ongoing coordination and cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, including joint efforts to combat COVID-19, and collaboration within Phase III clinical trials.
The Cabinet noted the People’s Republic of China’s role, alongside others, in supporting international vaccination efforts. The Cabinet further reviewed the Kingdom’s ongoing National Vaccination Campaign, noting the arrival of a large number of vaccines in March, for use in protecting the Kingdom’s population.
The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting, and outlined the following outcomes:
Firstly: The approval of the following memorandums:
1. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding changes to the patent system for the GCC countries, adopted at a recent Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. The system aims to develop legislation and a unified legal framework within the patent system.
2. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU on political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, which aims to strengthen bilateral relations across political, economic, cultural and scientific fields, and other areas of common interest.
3. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance, amending the Future Generations Reserve Law, by increasing investment in the Future Generations Fund from sales of crude oil exported outside the Kingdom of Bahrain.
4. A memorandum by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications regarding taxi licenses and the reissuance of licenses cancelled throughout 2020, to support citizens in light of the exceptional circumstances presented by COVID-19.
5. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government’s response to 6 proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives.
Secondly: The Cabinet reviewed the following topic:
1. A report on the operations of the Tender Board for the year 2020, which showed an increase in the rate of public tenders to 74%, reflecting greater efficiency, transparency.
