Manama, September 20 (BNA) His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister chaired today the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al-Qudaibiya Palace.
The Cabinet welcomed the results of the visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the Arab Republic of Egypt, which included a meeting with His Excellency President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Cabinet indicated that the meeting strengthened bilateral relations and joint coordination on international issues and developments.
In celebration of the International Day of Peace, the Cabinet affirmed His Majesty’s initiatives in support of international efforts to maintain international security, stressing that the Kingdom of Bahrain continues its unwavering support for efforts to promote world peace.
The Cabinet stressed the importance of strengthening legal and legislative mechanisms to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. In this regard, the Cabinet welcomed the findings of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index, which places Bahrain in the first place in the Arab world.
The Cabinet reviewed a summary of the performance of the main economic indicators that the Ministry of Finance and National Economy monitors periodically until August 2021. The Ministry presented a comparison with the same two periods in 2020 and 2019 showing signs of recovery and a return to levels. Registered before the global pandemic. The results were as follows:
• In the real estate sector, the number of building permits issued in the first eight months of 2021 increased by 18% compared to the same period in 2019, while in August 2021 alone, the number exceeded the figure recorded in August 2019 by 64.6%.
• Total spending using POS machines using ATM cards issued in the Kingdom of Bahrain in August increased by 55% compared to the same period in 2019.
• The value of Bahrain’s non-oil exports of national origin increased by 103% during August 2021 compared to August 2019, while imports grew by 16% during the same period.
• The recovery of the tourism sector is shown through several indicators, including the occupancy rate of 4- and 5-star hotels, which exceeded 48% in August 2021.
• The second edition of the National Employment Program has achieved 70% of its goals in terms of employment and training. The program has succeeded in employing more than 17,000 Bahrainis and training more than 7,000 Bahrainis.
During the meeting, the Council of Ministers discussed several memoranda with the following results:
Agree to the following notes:
1- A memorandum from the Civil Service Council regarding the restructuring of several government agencies to improve efficiency and performance.
2 – A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding three draft laws by decree that form part of a development package to improve legislation.
3- A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs ratifying the Arab Customs Cooperation Agreement, which aims to enhance joint cooperation between Arab customs administrations and further enhance coordination in the economic and commercial fields.
4- A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding a draft law approving the “legal” system amending some provisions of the unified customs legal system for the GCC states.
5- A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding a draft decision to amend some provisions of the executive regulations of the Civil Service Law.
6- A memorandum by the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the third periodic report of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the progress made in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to be presented to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the office. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Cabinet took note of several ministerial reports. Including the outputs of: the fifth meeting of the Gulf Ministerial Committee for Education, the twenty-first meeting of the ministers of higher education and scientific research in the GCC countries (chaired by Bahrain), and the thirty-first meeting of the agricultural cooperation committee in the GCC countries.
NS