His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, yesterday chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, at Gudaibiya Palace.
The Cabinet congratulated HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for being awarded the C3 Leadership Award, granted by the 2021 C3 US-Arab Healthcare & Business Summit.
The award was in recognition of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister’s leadership across many areas, as well as his efforts in combating Covid-19, and further strengthening Bahrain-US relations.
HRH Prince Salman expressed his gratitude to officials at government authorities, constitutional institutions, diplomats and members of various embassies, members of municipal councils and officials at private companies, as well as citizens and residents who have expressed their congratulations for the award.
He affirmed that the award honours all, including Team Bahrain, for their efforts in transforming challenges into opportunities and to further the kingdom’s comprehensive development, led by His Majesty King Hamad.
The Cabinet congratulated Saudi Arabia on their National Day, praising their comprehensive development, prosperity and progress, led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting.
A memorandum by the Government Executive Committee was approved on the progress of the programmes implemented within the Government Priorities Framework up to September 2021 and the execution plans for projects within its third edition, which aim to achieve financial sustainability and secure an environment that supports development.
A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs concerning four MoU’s between Bahrain and the State of Israel was given the green light. It aims to strengthen bilateral co-operation in the fields of sports, innovation and development in water resources, environmental protection, nature and habitat conservation, medical services and research.
A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on granting Israel sovereignty over their data stored in Bahrain on the Provision of Cloud Computing Services to Foreign Parties was approved.
Another memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance regarding the review of the performance of the Fiscal Balance Programme since its launch in 2018 and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the financial and economic situation, as well as options studied to achieve a fiscal balance between government expenditures and revenues was also approved.
It was also agreed to proceed with constitutional and legal procedures to refer a draft law amending some provisions of the VAT law to the legislative authority, which includes an amendment to the value-added percentage starting from January 1, 2022.
A memorandum by the Finance and National Economy Minister on Bahrain’s logistics plan, which includes the strategic objectives of the sector, and the future plan for air cargo at Bahrain International Airport, and the launch of a global sea to air hub was also approved.
A memorandum by the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister regarding the recognition of a number of countries as partners for the global sea to air hub launched in Bahrain, allowing companies based in these countries to apply for accreditation as an authorised operator of this service.
The Cabinet reviewed a memorandum by the Finance and National Economy Minister regarding the quarterly economic report for the second quarter of 2021, which outlined Bahrain’s ability to return to pre-pandemic economic and financial progress.
Its preliminary results showed that nominal GDP grew by 20.7 per cent during the second quarter of the year compared with the same quarter of 2020, supported by growth in non-oil sectors of 12.8pc, while the real GDP growth rate reached 5.7pc on an annual basis.
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