Information Minister hails Government Forum 2017

Information Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi hailed the second Government Forum 2017 to be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.
Al Romaihi described the event as a new major step forward on the path of comprehensive and sustainable development and a pioneering government initiative to optimise public services in tune with the government action plan and the Economic Vision 2030.
The minister affirmed the commitment of all national media to project the high profile event and to highlight its noble civilisational significance in terms of the government’s keenness to improve performance and upgrade public services in order to bolster development and civilisational progress on the basis of sustainability, competitiveness and justice.
He pointed, in this respect, to a comprehensive media plan prepared by the Information Ministry in conjunction with relevant parties to cover the Government Forum, including reports, interviews, specialised radio and TV programmes as well as reporting the main news via social media networks. He also stressed the participation of decision makers and executive officials to update citizens on national issues and progress in implementing the government action plan at all levels.

Al Romaihi lauded the positive outcome of the first edition of the Government Forum last year thanks to the coordination between the executive and legislative branches and in partnership with the private sector.
He stressed the importance of the forum in shedding light on the effective strategic development plans aimed at upgrading the government action through comprehensive programmes and initiatives to boost performance, productivity and the quality of public services. He also pointed out the economic diversification policy, developing oil and non-oil sectors to achieve financial sustainability.

The minister praised the quality of services provided for citizens in many sectors, including health, education, public facilities, infrastructure as well as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) field.
Those top quality services have earned Bahrain leading places internationally in human development in addition to holding the first place at the Arab level in the economic freedom indices, measuring the information society and readiness of the egovernment, according to international reports, he added.
He also pointed out Bahrain’s top ranking at the Arab level in Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Reading Challenge and the enormous boom in the housing projects and services through the distribution of 40,000 housing units to Bahraini families and the construction of five new cities.

The minister stressed the tangible progress of the Information Ministry in bettering the legislative and organisational framework of the media and telecommunication sector, citing steps taken in this regard that include preparing an advanced draft law for the electronic press and media to provide a favourable climate for responsible media freedom, modernising the media infrastructure, inaugurating the National Communication Centre (NCC) and carrying out specialised training programmes for national competencies who account for more than 97% of the workforce.

The minister underlined the ministry’s ongoing efforts to develop the programmes content within the framework of the new national media identity that was inaugurated by HRH the Prime Minister in November in order to bolster the role of the media in preserving the security and stability of the nation and the Arabian Gulf, boost the kingdom’s Arab and Islamic cultural and civilisational identity and promote national gains brought about in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Source: Fana News