His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at Gudaibiya Palace.
The Cabinet highlighted the importance of the meeting held between His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, HE Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in El Alamein, Egypt.
The Cabinet noted the importance of cooperation between the two countries to achieve common aspirations of development, stability, and prosperity.
The Cabinet congratulated the Consort of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, on the upcoming 22nd anniversary of the founding of the SCW.
The Cabinet commended the achievements of Bahraini women and their remarkable contributions to government work, following the SCW’s adoption of ambitious plans and programmes for Bahraini women.
The Cabinet expressed its condolences to the government of the United States of America and the families of the victims of the devastating forest fires that occurred in Hawaii, wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.
During the meeting, the Cabinet discussed several memorandums, approving the following:
1. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance regarding increasing the paid-up capital of the Eskan Bank to BHD 250 million to implement new housing financing programmes.
2. A memorandum submitted by the Minister of Finance and National Economy regarding the Future Generations Reserve Fund’s annual report and audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2022, with preliminary estimated performance indicators until June 30 2023. The total assets of the Future Generations Reserve Fund amounted to USD 614.3 million during 2022 and increased to USD 680.1 million during the first half of 2023.
3. A memorandum submitted by the Minister of Oil and Environment regarding Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy, which is part of the initiatives under the development of the priority sectors within the Kingdom’s Economic Recovery Plan. The strategy is based on four main pillars that aim to strengthen the energy sector and implement efforts to achieve net-zero carbon neutrality.
4. A memorandum submitted by the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning regarding the acquisition of real estate for public use to provide spaces for urban development.
5. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding the government’s response to three proposals and two proposed laws submitted by the Council of Representatives.
Finally, the Cabinet noted the following ministerial reports:
1. The Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the incidents of repeated burning of the Holy Quran.
2. The visit of the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
3. The visit of the Minister of Social Development to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
BNA(R)
