Key decisions at weekly Bahrain Cabinet meeting

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, held remotely.

The Cabinet discussed on going national efforts aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19), led by HRH the Crown Prince. In this regard, the Cabinet praised the commitment of the Kingdom’s citizens and residents in following all the health guidelines issued by the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which has had a tangible, positive impact on reducing infection rates.

The Cabinet further praised the efforts made by frontline medical workers, noting that their efforts have been recognised internationally by organizations such as the World Health Organization. The Cabinet stressed the importance for all to continue to follow all health measures and guidelines issued in order to ensure eradication of the virus.

On the occasion of the Bahraini Doctors’ Day, an initiative established by HRH the Prime Minister, the Cabinet praised the role of Bahraini doctors and medical staff and their noble contributions to the Kingdom, expressing their appreciation for the humanitarian sacrifices and risks made to safeguard the health of the community. 

The Cabinet condemned the terrorist attack that occurred in Vienna, the Republic of Austria, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of people. The Cabinet expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to all those injured from this heinous terrorist act. The Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom of Bahrain’s support alongside the Republic of Austria in its efforts to combat terrorism, noting the importance of concerted efforts by the international community to eliminate terrorism, violence, and combat extremist organizations.

Following the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary-General, HE Dr Yasser bin Issa Al-Nasser, made the following remarks:

1. The Cabinet approved the exclusion of players, coaches, and members of the technical, administrative, medical and arbitration teams of private bodies working in the field of youth and sports from the scope of application of the provisions of the labour law in the private sector, as well as their exclusion from the scope of provisions of the Social Insurance Law, as their clubs pay the insurance contributions for these groups.

In light of this, the Cabinet decided to refer two Draft Laws to the Legislative Authority. The first Draft Law replaces Paragraph (a) of Article (2) of the Labour Law in the Private Sector promulgated by Law No. (36) of 2012, and the second Draft Law introduces a new clause No. (12) to the first paragraph of Article (3) of the Social Insurance Law promulgated by Decree-Law No. (24) of 1976.  The memorandum on the aforementioned matter was submitted by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs.

2. The Cabinet approved the restructuring of the Higher Coordination Committee for Human Rights headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the membership of 18 representatives from across the Kingdom’s government agencies, provided that representatives in the committee are not below the rank of Assistant Undersecretary. The decision to name the members of the Higher Coordination Committee is to be issued by the Chairman of the Committee, in light of the memorandum submitted for this purpose by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

3. The Cabinet approved an MoU between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the State of Israel regarding air services and authorized the concerned Minister to sign it. The agreement regarding air services between the two countries was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, in light of the memorandum submitted for this purpose by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications.

4. The Cabinet approved the referral of the extension of the VAT exemption for the Bahrain Marina Development Company owned by the Social Insurance Organization to the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission in order to settle the dispute over the interpretation of some legal aspects related to this exemption, in accordance with the provisions of Clause (8) of Article (2) Of Law No. (60) of 2006 regarding the reorganization of the Legislation and Legal Opinion Authority, amended by Decree-Law No. (60) of 2018, and based on the recommendation of the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs in its memorandum submitted by HE the Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Committee.

5. The Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by the Council of Representatives to reinforce control over telecommunication companies that provide citizens with Internet services.

The Cabinet further approved two proposals which had already been fulfilled at the time of their presentation, related to official working hours and the holding of evening prayers and tarawih prayers in the main mosques last Ramadan due to the global spread of COVID-19.  The Cabinet also agreed on the government's response to a proposal to calculate the amount of cellular data and consumed communication minutes.

In the items of ministerial reports, the Cabinet noted the outcomes of the meeting of the Health Ministers' Committee and the General Conference of the Council of Health Ministers of the GCC states through a report submitted by the Minister of Health, as well as the outcomes of the meeting of the Tourism Ministers in the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf through a report submitted by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism.