Bahraini deputy PM chairs regular weekly cabinet meeting

Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa has conveyed His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa's appreciation to the cabinet following its congratulating him on his successful medical tests.
HRH Premier also expressed utmost thanks to the cabinet for its tremendous efforts to serve the nation and the citizens, the Deputy Premier told Ministers, noting that HRH the Prime Minister will return to the kingdom soon.
This came as Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired at the Gudaibiya palace today the regular weekly cabinet meeting.
In a statement following the session, the Secretary-General of Cabinet Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser stated the cabinet had stressed that participation in the upcoming legislative and municipal elections is a national duty that reflects responsibility and care towards national interests.
The cabinet urged the citizens to practise their national and constitutional right by heading to the polls in force, stressing that attempts to disrupt the electoral process, calls to boycott the elections, and attacking candidates are all acts that are punishable by the law and are against the national interests.
The Deputy Premier requested the Finance Minister and the Minister in Charge of Oil and Gas Affairs to brief the session on a report about world oil prices, and tasked him with preparing a report including proposals to face the recent fall in oil prices and their impacts, taking into consideration the government's development plans and projects, as well as investment policies.
On health, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak also reviewed the on-goining awareness-raising policies aiming on informing people about the dangers of the sickle-cell disease, stressing the importance of the role played by society in reducing the number of patients.
In this regard, the Health Minister delivered a presentation showing that the number of sicke-cell patients in the kingdom is decreasing thanks to the government's tireless efforts to provide treatment and care for them.
In a related context, the cabinet decided to donate BD1 billion to the United Nations Special Fund for the Fight against Ebola, to be taken from the Bahrain Humanitarian Assistance Committee. The donation will be delivered in cooperation with the Royal Charity Organisation (RCO).
The cabinet discussed the current and future housing projects, in line with the government's policies to provide decent housing for the citizens through implementing more projects and reducing the number of those in the waiting lists.
A presentation by the Housing Minister on the situation of the housing sector showed an increase in housing services between the years 2010-2014. He said that five new cities are being built, and 36 housing projects are being implemented, adding that between 2011 and 2014, a total of 8,395 housing units have been distributed to beneficiaries, and 9,424 housing loans have been granted, which, he said, reflects the government's increase spending in order to provide housing for the citizens.
He also said that more than 12,000 housing units, which contributed to reducing the waiting period from fifteen years to eight.
The cabinet also approved a draft ministerial resolution determining the subsidised oil by-products which must not be exported, and decided to refer the memorandum presented by the Minister of Finance and the Minister in Charge of Oil and Gas Affairs in this regard to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs for further study.
The cabinet praised the progress made by the Kingdom of Bahrain in implementing the resolutions of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), noting that it has completed the implementation of all GCC resolutions, and issued the necessary legislative tools and published them in the Official Gazette.
The stances were expressed following a memo presented by the Minister of Shura Council and Parliament Affairs on the work of the Ministerial Committee for Follow-up on the implementation of the GCC Supreme Council's resolutions.
The cabinet reviewed the labour market's indicators in the third quarter of 2014, following a presentation by the Minister of Labour on those eligible for subsidy and unemployment insurance, as well as data on training, employment and vacancies.
The report revealed a stable unemployment rate of 3.6% during the third quarter of 2014, as well as an increase of 32% in the number of trainees during the same period.
The cabinet approved the kingdom's signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Works in Bahrain and the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM Berhad), Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser also said.