PM asks ministers to focus on development

Manama : His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday directed ministers to visit Riffa and Isa Town to address the development requirements and assess the civic needs of the citizens in housing, infrastructure, education, health, sport and other areas.

Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session, attended by His Royal Highness Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, HRH Premier instructed the relevant ministers to identify the development needs of these towns.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism has also been instructed to overhaul the Al Jasra Handicrafts Centre and Beit Al Jasra (Al Jasra House) to make these centres attractive tourist destinations.

Orders have also been issued to build a new integrated social centre that serves the citizens of Northern Governorate. Headquartered in Budaiya, the 25,000-square-metre social centre, costing BD1.4 million, will deliver social services for 550 citizens.

The Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure has been asked to follow up the implementation of his directives to meet the health needs of Sitra, Um Al-Hassam, Duraz and its neighbouring villages. The committee has also been asked to meet the youth and sports needs of Qalali, Um Al-Hassam, Bani Jamra, Duraz and villages located on the Budaiya Avenue. The needs of the villages in focus had been identified during the field visits conducted, upon the Premier’s directives, by the Health Minister and Youth and Sports Affairs Minister.

GAP projects reviewed

The Cabinet reviewed the progress of the projects included in the Government Action Plan (GAP), the General State Budget with $10 billion and those implemented by the private sector and are considered an important part of GAP implementation with investments worth $15 billion.

Figures showed that the total value of investments in urban, tourism and industrial projects is $32.5 billion, including investments, worth $7.5 billion, carried out by the Gulf Development Fund.

A memorandum presented by the Cabinet Affairs Minister showed that the total number of those projects is 757 and that the implementation progress is 75 per cent.

HM’s Saudi visit hailed

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s fruitful visit to Saudi Arabia, and his meeting with the Deputy Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, have been lauded by HRH Prime Minister.

HRH the Prime Minister also praised the solid long-standing fraternal Bahraini-Saudi relations, noting that they are based on a long history of bilateral cooperation and coordination in various fields. HRH Premier also highlighted the leading role played by sisterly Saudi Arabia to strengthen joint Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab and Islamic action.

Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session, HRH Premier lauded the key role played by Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, in serving and taking care of Haj pilgrims, as well as in ensuring easy procedures for all Muslims to perform Haj and Omrah rituals.