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 at Gudaibiya Palace.

The Cabinet commended the “Charter of Gold” festivities, held under the patronage of HM the King, along with the inauguration of the Gold Bank Website, which reflects HM the King’s dedication to honouring those who have accomplished national achievements. 

The Cabinet reviewed the latest developments of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), following the first registered case within the Kingdom, after a Bahraini national tested positive after arriving from Iran, via Dubai. The Cabinet further reviewed strategies designed to ensure the virus remains contained, and decided to temporarily close the Ibn Al Nafees Primary School for Boys, the Sitra Intermediate School for Girls, and the Al Qamar Kindergarten, located in Sitra, for a period of 14 days. The decision was taken as a precautionary measure, as the infected patient, a school bus driver, was transporting students to the schools.

The Cabinet also directed the Sunni and Jaffaria Waqf Directorates to raise awareness of preventative practices to combat the spread of the virus, and to guide citizens and residents to comply with the measures outlined by health authorities.

The Cabinet underscored the importance of citizens refraining from traveling to countries that have are affected by COVID-19, including Iran, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. The Cabinet affirmed that Bahraini, and GCC citizens and residents who have visited the countries infected by COVID-19 within 14 days of arriving in Bahrain will be subject to quarantine and enhanced testing procedures, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Cabinet extended congratulations to the Emir, government, and citizens of the State of Kuwait, on the occasion of the 59th Kuwait National Day, and 29th anniversary of its liberation. The Cabinet commended Kuwait’s development and achievements, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and wished Kuwait’s government, citizens, and residents further prosperity.

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

A number of submissions, memorandums and proposed laws were discussed during the meeting.

The Cabinet outlined the following outcomes:

1.  The Cabinet followed up on the directives of the HRH the Prime Minister to expedite the employment of job seekers and newly graduated doctors and to ensure that further medical training is provided to newly graduated doctors.

Additionally, in light of HRH the Crown Prince’s directives to ensure Bahraini nationals remain the priority within the Kingdom’s labour market, the Cabinet reviewed a joint memorandum submitted by the Minister of Health, and Minister of Labour and Social Development, on proposals to increase the number of graduate doctors within training programs, and to abide by the 20% Bahrainisation rate on all medical jobs within the Kingdom’s private sector. 

The Cabinet referred the Memorandum to the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Financial Balance, to submit to the Government’s Executive Committee.

2.  In line with HRH the Prime Minister’s directives to follow-up on the housing, development, services, educational, and municipal needs of Barbar, Jed Al Haj, and neighbouring villages, the Cabinet reviewed a joint memorandum submitted by the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, and the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs. The memorandum concerned roadwork, sanitation, agriculture, livestock, youth and sports services needed in the villages. The Cabinet decided to refer the memorandum to the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance.

3.  The Cabinet approved transferring infrastructure and construction projects implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs to the Ministry of Works, Municipalities affairs and Urban Planning within two phases, following a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs.

The First phase will begin by outlining the procedures needed to transfer the infrastructure and construction projects from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs to the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning. The second phase will focus on restructuring the Projects Management Department within the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs and reducing the number of employees within the department to ensure integrated efforts are made between the two ministries. The second phase further ensures aligned workstreams, aimed at improving the quality of public services, and a reduction in expenditures.

4.  The Cabinet approved an MoU between the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation in providing air navigation services and systems, and support of technical and operational aspects of the systems.

5.  The Cabinet approved an MoU between Bahrain's National Space Science Agency (NSSA), and the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), regarding collaboration on exploration activities and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. The memorandum also aims to support bilateral cooperation in the fields of exploring space technologies for peaceful purposes and cooperation on space research.

6.  The Cabinet reviewed the annual report of the National Committee on the Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling or Use of Chemical Weapons, covering the year of 2019. The report, submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs.

In the item of Ministerial reports, the Cabinet took note of a report submitted by the Minister of Education on the Ministry’s report on the application of a community service course within the public secondary schools academic curriculum, with the aim of consolidating the values of citizenship and nationalism among students through their voluntary work inside and outside of school. The Cabinet further reviewed the Ministry of Health’s report on participation at the extraordinary meeting of Health Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, on the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).