Bahraini PM minister chairs weekly cabinet meeting

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at the Gudaibiya Palace today in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier. After the meeting Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al Naser, Secretary General of the Cabinet, released the following statement: On the occasion of Bahrain’s National and Accession Day (16-17 December of each year); in memory of the establishment of modern Bahrain in the era of the founder Ahmed Al Fateh as an Arabic and Islamic entity in 1783; the 42nd anniversary for joining the United National as a member state; and the 14th anniversary of HM the King’s accession to the throne, the Cabinet expressed its utmost congratulations to HM the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khaifa, HRH the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and HRH the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy Prime Minister, and to the people of Bahrain, praying to God that such a joyous occasion reoccurs on a stronger and more advanced level and secures the Kingdom of Bahrain, its leadership and people. On this occasion the Cabinet confirmed that development, leisure, and prosperity in the era of HM the King and continued achievements in an environment of safety, security, and stability which encourages every Bahraini to unite behind the national principles in order to combat all conspiracies against the Kingdom, as well as establishing the appropriate environment for harmonious gatherings and and collaboration to protect the country and further its accomplishments. HRH the Crown Prince expressed congratulations to HRH the Prime Minister on the occasion of the Premier being granted the "Statesman" award in the Asian Business Leadership Forum. The Crown Prince expressed HRH the Prime Minister’s worthiness of this regional and international award in recognition of his achievements. On this occasion the Prime Minister stressed that any regional or international recognition he receives is recognition for Bahrain, its leadership and its people, which strengthens our determination to serve the people of Bahrain and increases the nation’s and its people’s accomplishments, as well as encourages tightening the bonds and relations between the government and people in the world in general and specifically in Asia and the Gulf. The Cabinet then welcomed the results of the 34th Summit of the Supreme Council for the GCC recently held in Kuwait and what initiatives and decisions were taken to support and enhance GCC political, economical and military cooperation. The Cabinet praised in this regard the efforts of HM the King and his brothers, the leaders of the GCC countries in this summit; and also hailed the role of HH Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the Prince of Kuwait, and all efforts made by his country to make this summit a success. On the occasion of Bahraini Police Day the Cabinet praised the significant efforts made by the policemen in performing their duties and the tasks assigned to them to protect lives and properties, as well as national accomplishments and maintaining security and stability. The Cabinet noted with appreciation and gratitude the efforts of the police forces to build a modern state based on equality and justice, while preserving freedoms and human dignity. The Cabinet then congratulated the Republic of China on its scientific achievement accomplished in the field of space exploration after its success in landing an unmanned Chinese spaceship on the moon, the third country in the world to achieve such an accomplishment. The Cabinet then discussed the memorandums listed on its work agenda and made the following decisions: First: The Cabinet commissioned all ministries and service government entities to submit on a periodic basis a performance indicators report to be prepared as per the adopted international standards to measure the efficiency of its bodies to provide assigned services and give the opportunity to the Cabinet to evaluate it against these international standards. The Cabinet assigned the Minister of State for Follow Up Affairs to coordinate this matter with ministries and government entities. Second: The Cabinet directed the relevant authorities to implement best international practices in regards to traffic lights and connecting them with each other in a form that saves time for drivers and reduces waiting time, The first phase in the main areas of the Capital are to be implemented by the end of the first quarter of 2014. The Cabinet also stressed the necessity of continuing to work on the development of traffic flow in the network of main roads and prepare it to face any fast growth in traffic challenges to ensure the continuity of traffic flow, which reaches an 8% increase annually. The Cabinet instructed the specialized authorities to set more regulations that limit undesirable practices and traffic abuses resulting from not obeying the traffic rules and regulations, especially at traffic lights. The Cabinet directed the relevant bodies to increase the efforts to rehabilitate the outdated sewage networks, and continue the commitments to green building standards. The Cabinet reviewed a slideshow presented by the Minister of Works of the Ministry’s achievements aimed at improving the infrastructure of roads, sewage, and buildings in addition to technical services as per the performance indicators developed based on international standards. The Cabinet noted the efforts of the Ministry of Works Minister and employees in achieving high scores on international performance indicators in the sewage, roads, buildings and technical services sectors. Third: The Cabinet directed the relevant authorities to continue the development of work indicators, connecting them to strategies and state central plans and continue efforts to prepare Bahraini human resources in a form that recognizes the Bahraini worker the best choice and prepares all the plans to narrow the gap in salaries between public and private sector. In this regard the cabinet noted through a report submitted by the Minister of Labor Chairman of Labor Market Regulatory Authority Board of Directors an increase in number of employees in public and private sector by 6.4% and 4.2% increase to national employees in the third quarter of 2013 in comparison with the same quarter of 2012. The Cabinet also noted the increase of median wages for Bahrainis which reached 649BD in the public sector and 367BD in the private sector with the increased percentage of 4.3% over the third quarter of last year and a decrease in national employment with pay grades less than 250BD during one year from 19% to 14%. Fourth: The Cabinet approved a draft law bill agreeing to join the conventional arms trade treaty for the year 2013 and decided that the specialized authorities must take constitutional and legal measures in preparation to refer it to the legislative authorities. Fifth: The Cabinet approved a draft law bill to join the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects adopted in Geneva in October 1980, and its third, fourth and fifth protocols. The Cabinet commissioned the relevant authorities to take Constitutional and legal measures in preparation to refer it to the legislative authorities. Sixth: The Cabinet approved four suggestions submitted by the House of Representatives: (1) to speed up the procedures on King Fahad Causeway; (2) to study the effects of separating general medicine from private; (3) on a versatile sports hall for ladies; and (4) regarding treatment for allergies.