His Royal Highness
Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

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 His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's continued support to the Kingdom's education sector, and commended the winners of the UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the field of education. The Cabinet noted the important role of the award in the Kingdom's commitment to advancing UNESCO's objectives by encouraging the use of ICT to further develop education and its outputs.

The Cabinet welcomed the Kingdom's presidency of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council for a third consecutive term for the year 2022-2023, which reflects the global recognition of Bahraini citizens' leadership in global organisations. The Cabinet commended Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa's efforts in his presidency of the WCO during his last two terms which led to his re-election for a third consecutive term. The Cabinet congratulated students who completed the academic school year, expressing their gratitude to the parents, teachers and administrators of the Ministry of Education for their contributions to the exceptional achievements and success across all academic levels.

The Cabinet reviewed a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Finance and National Economy, Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance, on the achievements of various housing programmes provided to Bahraini citizens, including the “Mazaya” housing programme, which has supported 10,629 beneficiaries. In this regard, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister directed the inclusion of 500 additional beneficiaries in the "Mazaya" housing programme, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 2500 recipients. His Royal Highness called on the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to offer additional financing schemes for housing services, and reiterated the Ministry’s and supporting authorities’ efforts in this regard. His Royal Highness stressed the importance of furthering efforts to develop innovative solutions for housing services that will accelerate the pace of delivery, in partnership with the private sector.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister then highlighted the importance of providing the necessary support to Bahraini pilgrims during their Hajj pilgrimage. In this regard, His Royal Highness praised the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia, for their commitment to facilitating services for Hajj pilgrims attending from across the world.

The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting with the following outcomes: The approval of the following memorandums:

1. A memorandum by the Minister of Finance and National Economy regarding the annual report and audited financial statements for the Future Generations Fund for the fiscal year ending on 31 December 2021.
2. A memorandum by the Minister of Shura Council and Representatives Council Affairs and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, regarding a number of MoUs and executive programmes between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt, which aim to enhance bilateral cooperation.
3. A memorandum by the Minister of Oil and Environment regarding the request to join the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which aims to enhance cooperation and build capacities in biodiversity preservation.
4. A memorandum by the Minister of Sustainable Development regarding the preparation of the Kingdom’s second National Voluntary Report on Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
5. A memorandum by the Minister of Shura Council and Representatives Council Affairs and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, regarding the government's response to four proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives.

The Cabinet took note of Ministerial reports regarding the outcomes of the Political Coordination Committee of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, the 62nd meeting of the Commercial Cooperation Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its accompanying meetings, participation in the sixth meeting of the GCC Ministerial Committee for Food Safety, ministers’ overseas engagements, and the visits of foreign delegations to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the month of July 2022.