Bahrain : 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 commended the outcomes of the meeting between His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The Cabinet added that HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s visit to the Kingdom reflects the strength of the joint strategic vision towards furthering bilateral cooperation and coordination across various areas.
In recognition of International Youth Day, the Cabinet emphasised the importance of providing quality job opportunities to Bahrain’s youth, to ensure their active participation in the Kingdom’s comprehensive development, led by HM the King. In this regard, the Cabinet highlighted the efforts of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, in adopting youth-led initiatives that support innovation and contribute to the Kingdom’s development.
The Cabinet highlighted the importance of following precautionary measures to support national COVID-19 efforts and to safeguard public health.
The Cabinet followed the developments unfolding in Afghanistan, stressing the importance of achieving security and stability. In line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s presidency of the current GCC session, the Cabinet directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to coordinate and consult with other GCC countries regarding the developments.
The cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting with the following outcomes:
The approval of the following memorandums:
1. A memorandum by the Civil Service Council regarding the restructuring of government agencies to increase efficiency and improve performance.
2. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, which aims to enhance cooperation in improving local and regional nutritional and health conditions.
3. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance on the consolidated annual accounts and the performance report on the implementation of the state budget for the fiscal year 2020.
4. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance on the results of the semi-annual financial report for ministries and government agencies for the period ending 30 June 2021, which showed an increase in revenues by 23% compared to the same period in the fiscal year 2020, driven by an increase in the oil revenues by 33% in addition to an increase in non-oil revenues by 4%. Total expenditures decreased by 4% which includes a decrease in recurring expenses by 2%. This led to a decrease in the total deficit by 35%, compared to the same period last year.
5. A memorandum by the Minister of Health regarding the results of evaluation and accreditation of hospitals in the Kingdom of Bahrain during the second phase extending from January 2019 to June 2020, which aims to ensure compliance with the approved regulations and standards for services provided to patients.
6. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government’s responses to two proposals and a law proposal submitted by the Council of Representatives, and two law proposals submitted by the Shura Council.
The Cabinet also reviewed the following topics:
1. A memorandum by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications on the progress of the Ministry’s priorities for the year 2020-2021
2. Reports on the outcomes of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s participation in the thirty-second Olympic Games “Tokyo Olympics” 2020, and the achievement of the national basketball team for the title of the sixteenth Gulf Championship for junior teams hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain.
