Manama, 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 a meeting attended by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, HE Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The Cabinet highlighted the meeting's importance in strengthening multilateral cooperation and coordination across various regional and international issues of common interest and challenges faced by the Arab world.

The Cabinet conveyed its congratulations to the Supreme Commander, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister, on the Bahrain Defence Force's (BDF) 54th anniversary. The Cabinet also congratulated the members of the BDF, who stand ready and are committed to defending and safeguarding the Kingdom.

The Cabinet reviewed the latest regional and international developments, noting that Bahrain prioritises discourse as a means to ensure peaceful resolutions.

The Cabinet further affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain employs mutual respect and the fostering of good relations to combat extremist ideologies to maintain security and promote prosperity.

The Cabinet noted Bahrain's commitment to upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter, which stipulates non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign countries, adherence to human values, tolerance, coexistence, and a peaceful settlement of crises within the framework of strengthening international cooperation.

In light of the memorandum by the Minister of Interior, the Cabinet affirmed His Royal Highness' directives for the greater use of the Alternative Sanctions and Measures Law. His Royal Highness also mandated the Ministry of Interior to implement the Alternative Sentencing Programme in conjunction with the Open Prisons Programme.

The Cabinet commended the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowments for their efforts in this regard.

The Cabinet declared Thursday, 10 February, a half workday at ministries and state departments to mark National Sports Day. This half workday will reiterate the importance of sports and allow staff to engage in sports events. In this regard, the Cabinet stressed the importance of following all precautionary measures to protect public health.

The Cabinet strongly condemned and denounced the launch of a ballistic missile by the terrorist Houthi militia against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Cabinet affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain supports all measures undertaken by the UAE to protect its security and stability.

The Cabinet discussed a number of memorandums during the meeting with the following outcomes:

The approval of the following memorandums:

1. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding a draft law amending Article 61 of Common Customs Law of the GCC States.

2. A Memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft decision regarding the Unified Guide for Classification of Goods for the Countries of the GCC States.

3. A memorandum by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications regarding a multilateral technical memorandum of understanding between authorities investigating aircraft accidents and incidents within the Middle East and North Africa region.

The memorandum aims to enhance cooperation between the parties and exchange expertise within aircraft accident investigations, to utilise the results in research that will improve aviation safety.

4. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government's response to three proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives.

The Cabinet reviewed the following topics:

1. A memorandum by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications regarding the most prominent achievements related to the registration and licensing of small sea vessels. Statistics reveal that a total of 18,667 services have been provided in 2021, and that the electronic transformation of all services will be provided by June 2022.

The Cabinet then took note of Ministerial reports regarding: the Kingdom’s participation in the consultative meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers and the World Food Forum 2022; the foreign participation of the ministers and the visits of foreign delegations to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the month of February.

Source: Bahrain News Agency