Bahraini PM chairs weekly cabinet meeting

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired at Gudaibiya Palace today the weekly cabinet meeting, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier. HRH the Premier welcomed HRH the Crown Prince as his First Deputy, congratulating him on the royal trust. He said HRH the Crown Prince's participation in the government work, through the cabinet, will be of great assistance in upgrading and modernizing the bodies of the executive power. HRH the Prime Minister lauded HRH the Crown Prince's wealth of experience and administrative knowledge, wishing him every success and pledging every support to him. Then, HRH the Crown Prince gave the following speech: "May the peace and grace of Allah be upon you. Firstly, I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for bestowing his trust in me with this appointment as First Deputy Prime Minister. I also would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, for his warm welcome of His Majesty’s decree. Your Royal Highness’s experience and wisdom highlights our path to the future. You are, as you have been and continue to be, a fundamental cornerstone of this nation and its future. At this moment, we are all required, more than at any other time, to collaborate and collectively contribute – without exception, exclusion or discrimination - in order to overcome present challenges. To do so, necessitates the implementation of a political programme that matches the requirements of this time, and reflects the needs and aspirations of all Bahrainis. We need to review our operational plans and economic vision to ensure that what is right for Bahrain always remains first and foremost, and that it offers hope for everyone. We must ensure that the outcomes of government action are policies that uphold a sense of justice and equality; so that everyone believes in Bahrain as their nation, in loyalty to its King, in rejecting violence as an approach, and seeing effective reform as the shared goal. We pray to Allah to grant us success." After that, the cabinet denounced recent acts of terror and sabotage in some regions to disrupt work and the educational process by violence and force. The ministerial council praised the vigilance and efforts of the security officers as well as the will of citizens in thwarting those attempts to sow chaos, adding that rejection of such destructive calls is indicative that progress and reform can never be achieved through terror and anarchy. The cabinet stressed that renouncing violence must be by taking explicit stances, direct actions and standing united against violence and its perpetrators in order to build trust and pave the way for a constructive dialogue that supports political development. The ministerial council reviewed progress of the National Consensus Dialogue on political issues and urged all parties involved to take part actively and expedite working out an agenda of raised visions so as to reach a consensus on them and bring about new gains in political development. The council also called anew on all sides to engage in an unconditional dialogue based on ostracizing all forms of violence, rejecting foreign interference in internal affairs and adhering to the constitutional frameworks, the consensual approach and respect of the principle of political pluralism. The cabinet discussed the financial situation in Bahrain and reviewed, in this regard, the bases upon which the overall estimations of revenues, expenditures and deficit were made and included in the general budget draft law for the fiscal years 2013 and 2014, which was referred to the legislative power. After reviewing a memorandum by the Finance Minister, the cabinet approved a number of initiatives aimed at improving citizens' living standard and income sources by raising the subsidization programme budget and the high living cost allowance budget for pensioners from the public and private sectors, supporting the private sector's charity initiatives for needy people and raising the budget of some services ministries. The ministerial council also endorsed a number of proposals aimed at boosting sustainable funding sources and restructuring the general treasury in the medium and long run. The cabinet tasked competent authorities to take the necessary procedures to amend the budget draft law. The cabinet also discussed broadening the scope of beneficiaries from urgent aid provided by the government to compensate citizens who fall victims of adversities that threaten their livelihood, which are currently exclusive to fire incidents. The ministerial council tasked the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs to study the financial aspects in this respect. The cabinet discussed the needed legal frameworks to grant the Bahraini citizenship to the children of a Bahraini woman married to a non-Bahraini according to well-determined regulations highlighted by the Interior Minister in his memorandum submitted in this regard. The council decided to refer the memo to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The cabinet approved a pilot scheme to extend the school time to 2.15 pm in eight intermediate schools in the academic year 2013 and 2014. The ministerial council approved the amendment of fees levied on crossing Bahrain's airspace in line with the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee for Social Services, Media, Transportation and Communication Affairs. Out of the cabinet's keenness to ensure a favourable local, regional and international investment climate in Bahrain Logistic Zone at Khalifa bin Salman Port, the ministerial council decided to cut down the leasing rate of lands located in the afore-mentioned region by 40%. Therefore, 1 sqm in Bahrain Logistic Zone will be leased BD 3.6 instead of the current BD 6. The cabinet approved a draft decree to ratify Beijing Amendment (1999) of the original Montreal Protocol, which was signed in 1987, as a first step in international efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone by controlling depleting substances.