Cabinet praises National Sports Day, condemns terror attack

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has issued instructions to allocate half of the working hours on Tuesday February 7 for sports activities to mark the National Sports Day.

The Prime Minister directed ministries and government departments to hold sporting events on that day for their employees in order to achieve the athletic, health and social goals of the National Sports Day, promote the concept of sports for all and raise awareness on the importance of sports for individuals and society. HRH the Prime Minister made the statements while chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session , at the Gudaibiya Palace today. The session condemned and denounced the Bilad Al-Qadeem heinous terror act which claimed the life of First-Lieutenant Hisham Hassan Mohammed Al-Hammadi, and offered deepest condolences to family and relatives of the fallen officer, praying to Allah the Almighty to rest his soul in eternal peace. According to a statement by Cabinet Secretary-General Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser, HRH Premier gave directives to crack down on murderers and terrorists, strictly enforce the laws and decisions and clamp down on terrorists. Decisive and prompt action has to be taken against law-breakers without laxity in order not to allow terrorism to become endemic in a secure and stable country such as Bahrain, the Prime Minister said, lauding the huge sacrifices made by the brave security personnel for the sake of the homeland and their commitment to safeguarding its integrity and maintaining its security. “Such treacherous acts of terror will never undermine the resolve and determination of the Government and people of Bahrain to uproot extremism and terrorism,” he affirmed, stressing that the arm of justice will reach terrorists and murderers wherever they are, as retribution is necessary to ensure that Bahrain remains an oasis of security and stability as it has always been. The Prime Minister welcomed the kingdom’s hosting of the World Indoor Skydiving Championship in 2018, organised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (The World Air Sports Federation), FAI, as a prestigious sporting event that will consolidate Bahrain’s status in the sport and tourism fields, commending, in this regard, the tremendous efforts exerted by the Board Chairman of Gravity Company, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa, for supporting Bahrain’s bid to host the global sporting event. The Cabinet discussed ways to strengthen the competitiveness of the Khalifa bin Salman Port in the region through increasing its potential regarding container and freight handling, as well as services. In this regard, the session reviewed a report submitted by the operating company of the Khalifa bin Salman Port, a memorandum presented by the Deputy Premier and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalisation of Expenditure, in addition to a report by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications regarding the maritime facility. The Cabinet then discussed adjusting the fees levied on the licenses to transport, import, export and re-export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and precursors, issued by the Health Ministry, as well as the licenses to make and produce medicines in which those materials are used. The session decided to refer the memorandum submitted by the Deputy Premier and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalisation of Expenditure in this regard to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs to study its legal aspects and ensure its conformity with Law 15/2007 with respect to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Precursors. The Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs was also requested to take the necessary legal and constitutional procedures ahead of the ratification of the agreement signed between Bahrain and the Republic of Cyprus on cooperation in combating terrorism, organised crime, trafficking in drugs, psychotropic substances, illegal immigration and other criminal offenses, outlined in the memorandum submitted by the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments. The Cabinet also discussed the mechanism proposed by the Secretariat-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on ways to ensure the speedy implementation of the systems and resolutions approved by the GCC Supreme Council. The matter, included in the memorandum submitted by the Parliament Affairs Minister, was also referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The session also endorsed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to be signed on the sidelines of the meeting of the Joint Bahraini-Pakistani Ministerial Committee, after having been reviewed by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The MoUs are related to cooperation between the Supreme Council for the Environment and Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister, cooperation between Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Service Academy at the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and cooperation between Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and its Pakistani counterpart.