HRH the Crown Prince chairs the weekly Cabinet meeting

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at Gudaibiya Palace.

HRH the Crown Prince reviewed the latest developments regarding the global spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and wide-ranging measures Bahrain is implementing to contain the spread of the virus within its borders.

HRH the Crown Prince also reviewed plans to evacuate Bahraini citizens from the Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with the directives of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to safeguard the well-being of citizens and residents.

The Cabinet suspended all business travel for government employees across all levels and urged all citizens to minimise their travels wherever possible.

The Cabinet stressed that legal measures will  be taken against all individuals who do not comply with the quarantine and isolation measures under implementation. The maximum penalties prescribed in the Public Health Law No. (34) of 2018 outlines failure to comply with quarantine measures is punishable by imprisonment for a period of at least 3 months and a fine no less than BHD 1,000 and no more than BHD 10,000, or one of these two penalties.

On this note, the Cabinet urged citizens to be cautious and follow preventive health guidelines procedures introduced to contain the spread of COVID-19, particularly amidst its outbreak across a large number of countries globally.

The Cabinet recognised the importance of following the Ministry of Health’s instructions to those arriving from Italy, South Korea, Egypt and Lebanon during the past two weeks to self-isolate for 14 days, and to schedule their medical examination by visiting www.moh.gov.bh/covid19  or calling 444, whilst avoiding contact with others.

Following the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary-General, HE Dr. Yasser bin Issa Al-Nasser, made the following remarks:

In line with the recommendation of the Government Executive Committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, and the recommendations made by HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training, the Cabinet approved a number of solutions to address the qualification of Bahraini students studying at Chinese universities, which were initially not approved by the National Committee for the Evaluation of Academic Qualification. The decisions include:

• Providing university qualification certification for the 23 who passed the standardised test
• Allocating a training budget and premises for those who did not complete the concession year
• Allocating the budgets necessary to implement a training program for the 67 graduates who did not pass the standard examination and complete the concession year

The Cabinet approved a list of recommended Chinese universities to study medicine programmes in the Chinese, and assigned the Ministry of Education to coordinate with the Cultural Attaché in China to direct Bahraini students enrolled in Chinese universities, from 2017 and subsequent years, by transferring to one of the six universities recommended.

The Cabinet agreed to determine the level of holders of unaccredited dental qualifications from Chinese universities by a regional university, prepare a training program for unsuccessful students, and allocate the necessary budget for that.

The Cabinet instructed the Supreme Council of Health to implement the recommendations.

The Cabinet reviewed a report presented by HE the Minister of Cabinet Affairs on projects under development as part of the Government Programme (2019-2022), highlighting details of projects being implemented across different levels.

The Cabinet approved the guidelines presented by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism for home project owners licensed as a home business by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, as part of the ‘Khatwa’ program. The guidelines aims to uphold health and safety standards by providing home businesses with a reference document.

The Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding submitted by the Minister of Electricity and Water on the power purchase agreement and land use agreement for a 100-megawatt solar power plant.

The Cabinet referred a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs to the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance. The memorandum establishes the framework to convert the Bahrain National Stadium into a multi-purpose stadium to host other cultural, recreational and tourism events.

The Cabinet referred a draft law to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislation Affairs Ministers for further study. The draft law regards the accession of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention; CMS).

The Cabinet approved the addition of article number (261 bis) to the Penal Code issued by Decree-Law No. (15) for the year 1976, based on the recommendation of the Council of Representatives.

The Cabinet approved the Council of Representatives’ proposal to establish a health centre in Galali, Bahrain.

The Cabinet referred a memo to the Council of Representatives on the government’s opinion on two draft laws submitted by the Council of Representatives. The first is a draft law amending Decree-Law No. (78) for the year 2006 regarding insurance against unemployment, and the second is a draft law establishing a Public Funds Prosecution.

Later, the Cabinet reviewed the following reports:

• The outcomes of the 37th session of the Council of the Arab League, submitted by the Minister of Interior
• The outcomes of an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Bahrain’s participation in the high-level segment of the 43rd Session United Nations Human Rights Council, submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
• The outcomes of the international technical conference on carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), submitted by the Minister of Oil
• The outcomes of the 53rd Ordinary Session Meeting of the Arab Health Ministers Council, submitted by the Minister of Health