Cabinet endorses Quartet’s statement on Qatar crisis

The Cabinet has endorsed the joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministers of the four countries calling for combating terrorism during their recent meeting in the Bahraini capital.
The session backed the quartet ministers’ commitment to the six principles announced during the Cairo meeting, as well as their call on Qatar to respond positively to the 13 demands to consolidate the combat against terrorism and extremism and achieve the security of the region and the world, and their willingness to engage in dialogue with Qatar on the mechanisms to implement those demands.
This came as His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the regular weekly Cabinet session, attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, at the Gudaibiya Palace today.

The Cabinet reviewed a report submitted by the Foreign Affairs Minister on the outcomes of the second meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, hosted by the Kingdom, a post-session statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser, said.

The session lauded and valued highly the strenuous efforts and good endeavours exerted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud that resulted in cancelling the restrictions imposed by the Israeli Occupation authorities on worshippers’ entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This reflects King Salman’s keenness on taking care of Islamic sanctities, embodies his global status as a leader of the Islamic nation and reflects the international recognition of Saudi Arabia’s role in serving Islam and Muslims, as well as in championing their causes and protecting their holy sites.

The session condemned in the strongest terms the attempt by the Houthi militias to target the Hoy City of Makkah by ballistic missiles, deploring the brutal attack which violated the sanctity of the place and provoked the feelings of Muslims.
The Cabinet described the attack as a vile criminal act and a desperate and failed attempt to affect the Haj season, organised by Saudi Arabia with remarkable success.

HRH Premier tackled development issues, and gave directives to follow up on the needs of Sitra and Al-Nabeeh Saleh regarding their facilities, municipal services and health, housing, education and youth needs.
He instructed the relevant service ministers to make s field visit to Sitra and identify its needs.

The Cabinet praised the launch of the Government Services Development Programme and the commencement of its phase which comprises 14 government services.
A memorandum submitted by the Executive Committee, led by HRH the Crown Prince, said that a number of government departments had already started implementing the 14 developed services in order to improve their services, increase their competitiveness and foster fairness, transparency and efficiency that meet the aspirations of citizens and residents.
The project, covering in its first phase a number of government sectors, including the Ministry of Interior, the Health Ministry, the Electricity and Water Authority and the Information and e-Government Authority, will cut the service completion time by 75 per cent, reduce costs and consolidate sustainability, the memorandum said.

Tackling security issues, the session decided to add nine individuals and nine entities blacklisted in the joint statement issued by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt as terrorists to Bahrain’s terror list.
According to a memorandum presented by the Minister of Interior, the list includes Khalid Saeed al-Bounein (Qatar), Shaqer Jummah al-Shahwani (Qatar), Saleh bin Ahmed al-Ghanim (Qatar), Hamid Hamad Hamid al-Ali (Kuwait), Abdulla Mohammed al-Yazidi (Yemen), Ahmed Ali Ahmed Baraoud (Yemen), Mohammed Bakr al-Dabaa (Yemen), Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem (Libya) and Ahmed Abd al-Jaleel al-Hasnawi (Libya).
The blacklisted entities include Al-Balagh Charitable Foundation (Yemen), Al-Ihsan Charitable Society (Yemen), Rahma Charitable Organisation (Yemen), Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (Libya), Al-Saraya Media Centre (Libya), Boshra News Agency (Libya), Rafallah Sahati Brigade (Libya), Nabaa TV (Libya) and Tanasuh Foundation for Dawa, Culture and Media (Libya).

The Cabinet endorsed the creation of the “Smart Public Transportation Application Services”, which is a new activity under the list of public transportation licenses.
The license will allow licensed taxi and on-call taxi companies and individuals to work with smart phone applications’ companies.
The session also approved the draft edict to be issued by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications on those licenses, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs in the memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and committee chairman.

The Cabinet reviewed the progress of the activation of the agreements, memoranda of understanding and executive programmes signed between the Kingdom of Bahrain and brotherly and friendly countries, as well as regional and international organisations, as highlighted in the half-yearly report presented by the Foreign Affairs Minister.

The memorandum submitted by the minister in this regard was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

The session also approved an executive cooperation programme between the Supreme Council for the Environment (SCE) and the relevant parties in the USA for the years between 2017 and 2021.
Aiming to strengthen the SCE’s ability to protect the environment and sustainable development, the programme is within the bilateral trade relations resulting from the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement.

The session also reviewed, through a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, a statistical presentation on the resolutions and recommendations issued by the municipal council and Capital Trustees’ Board during the third session of the fourth municipal term.

The Cabinet also reviewed a proposed law submitted by the Council of Representatives on amending Article 32 of Law 32/2002 on the General State Budget. The bill was referred to the Council of Representatives alongside a memorandum explaining the government’s reply to it.

The session discussed proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives relating to the confirmation of Bahraini part-time workers, the establishment of a heritage museum in Muharraq and supporting the Rohingya people, and approved the government’s replies, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

Source : Fana News