Manama, Jan. 23 (BNA): Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa inaugurated the 14th Professional Development Conference and Exhibition organized by the American Society of Safety Professionals in partnership with the Ministry.
Aramco Deputy CEO Nabil Al-Jama, Head of Public Security Lieutenant General Tariq Al-Hassan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs Sheikh Hisham bin Abdul Rahman Al Khalifa, CEO of the Information and e-Government Authority. The meeting was attended by Mohammed Al Qaed, Head of Customs, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Governor of the capital, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa.
The event, which is held under the theme “Maintaining Excellence in Health, Safety and Environment”, includes the participation of speakers and experts from 20 countries. Conference lectures and workshops cover safety practices, HSE principles and business sustainability.
The minister stressed the importance of training and capacity building as essential elements of the Ministry of Interior’s development and modernization strategy through applying the latest scientific curricula and the best training standards to meet security requirements and enhance efficiency in dealing with security challenges.
He also stressed the importance of enhancing security and awareness of public safety.
The minister said that the event reflects the ever-increasing interest in public safety related to saving lives, resources, and public and private property.
He added that the gathering of safety experts, professionals and stakeholders is an opportunity to benefit from the latest technologies and exchange experiences.
Al-Jamea said in a speech that the participants were united by common goals and aspirations and are working to protect the assets and environmental systems.
He said the job of safety leaders and professionals goes beyond maintaining excellence to pursue continuous improvement by raising standards rather than simply maintaining them. He called for looking into the digital and cyber realm and identifying potential risks across a much broader scale.
He pointed to the important role of health, safety and the environment in maintaining the continuity of the work of organizations.
“At Aramco, we have committed ourselves to this agenda of continuous improvement, by taking actions and initiatives across several focus areas,” he said.
He added that continuous improvement is imperative in the safety sector because the challenges are constantly mounting in terms of speed, scale, complexity and potential impact.
The collector said that “accidents are a fact of life, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to be the best we can be – or working to be better tomorrow than we are. It should never stop us from learning lessons when we fall short.”
The celebration included honoring the minister for the organizers of the event, pointing out that Bahrain is working to encourage such events to be an essential element in all development programs and projects.
The Minister toured the exhibition, which included 70 companies, sponsors and exhibitors from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
He was briefed on the latest safety, health and environmental technologies and praised the importance of the items presented to enhance the use of available safety tools.