Quartet’s stance endorsed

Manama : The Cabinet meeting chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday endorsed the stance taken by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain on Qatar at a meeting in Manama on Sunday. 

“The session backs the quartet’s commitment to the six principles announced at the Cairo meeting as well as their call on Qatar to respond positively to the 13 demands to combat terrorism and extremism to achieve security of the region,” the Cabinet said in a statement. The Cabinet also supported the quartet’s willingness to engage dialogue with Qatar on the mechanisms to implement those demands.

The meeting held at Gudaibiya Palace yesterday was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, and other ministers. The Cabinet also reviewed a report submitted by the Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa  on the outcomes of the second meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries, hosted by the Kingdom.

Saudi King lauded

The Cabinet lauded the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud for his endeavours that resulted in cancelling the curbs imposed by the Israeli authorities on entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

“This reflects King Salman’s keenness on taking care of Islamic sanctities, embodies his global status as a leader of the Islamic nation, and reflects the recognition of Saudi Arabia’s role in serving Islam and Muslims, as well as in championing their causes and protecting holy sites,” the Cabinet said.

Civic issues to be addressed

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday gave directives to ministers focus on municipal services, health, housing, education and youth needs of the citizens at Sitra and Al-Nabeeh Saleh. Ministers have been asked to make a field visit to Sitra and identify its needs. The cabinet also lauded the launch of the Government Services Development Programme which comprises 14 government services. A memorandum submitted by the Executive Committee, led by HRH the Crown Prince said that government departments had already started implementing the 14 services. The project covers Ministry of Interior, Health Ministry, Electricity and Water Authority and Information and e-Government Authority, which will cut the service completion time by 75%, reduce costs and consolidate sustainability, the memorandum said. 

Nine individuals, nine entities blacklisted

Tackling security issues, the Cabinet decided to add nine individuals and nine entities blacklisted in the joint statement issued by Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as terrorists to the Bahrain’s terror list.

According to a memorandum presented by the Minister of Interior, the list includes Khalid Saeed Al Bounein (Qatar), Shaqer Jummah al-Shahwani (Qatar), Saleh bin Ahmed Al Ghanim (Qatar), Hamid Hamad Hamid Al Ali (Kuwait), Abdulla Mohammed Al Yazidi (Yemen), Ahmed Ali Ahmed Baraoud (Yemen), Mohammed Bakr Al Dabaa (Yemen), Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem (Libya) and Ahmed Abd Al Jaleel Al-Hasnawi (Libya).

The blacklisted entities include Al-Balagh Charitable Foundation (Yemen), Al-Ihsan Charitable Society (Yemen), Rahma Charitable Organisation (Yemen), Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (Libya), Al-Saraya Media Centre (Libya), Boshra News Agency (Libya), Rafallah Sahati Brigade (Libya), Nabaa TV (Libya) and Tanasuh Foundation for Dawa, Culture and Media (Libya).