Day: April 27, 2023

Usufruct contracts were signed today at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to establish agricultural projects in four governorates in Oman to the tune of more than RO 32 million. The projects cover an area of more than 3 million sqm.

The contracts seek to implement the ministry’s initiatives to support the agricultural sector and consolidate its partnership and integration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources. The overall purpose is to diversify sources of food security within the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.

The contract agreements were signed by Dr. Khalfan Said Al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, in the presence of Dr. Saud Hamoud Al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.

The contracts, which provide lands under the usufruct system, will help support the economy and investments. They will augment the sustainability of land use through the implementation of modern innovative projects to be carried out in line with the National Strategy for Development of Governorates.

They provide for the establishment of a “honey bee museum” in the Wilayat of Barka, South Al Batinah Governorate. The project, which will occupy more than 12,000 sqm, is worth RO 1,250,000.

Another contract was also signed to consolidate soil richness in the Wilayat of Barka on an area of more than 40,000 sqm. It is worth RO 180,000.

In Al Buraimi Governorate, a contract agreement was signed to plant 50,000 palm trees of the Fard, Majdol and Khalas varieties in the Wilayat of Al Sunaina. The project, which occupies an area of more than two million square metres, is worth RO 3 million.

In Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, a contract was signed for an organic farming project to produce pomegranates in the Wilayat of Al Jabal Al Akhdar on an area of more than 121,000 sqm to the tune of RO 294,000.

And in North Al Batinah Governorate, a contract was signed for the production and marketing of banana crops in the Wilayat of Al Suwaiq. The project, which occupies an area of more than 267,000 sqm, is worth RO 446,000.

In the wilayat of Sohar, a contract was signed to set up a project to cultivate and produce figs on an area of more than 64,000 sqm. It is worth RO 150,000.

Dr. Saud Hamoud Al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources said that his ministry seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in food products and 100 percent has been achieved in the production of some crops like dates. In the next stage, emphasis will be laid on agricultural industrialization, he explained.

Source: Oman News Agency

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received Asian Football Confederation(AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

The Uzbek president congratulated Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim on his reappointment as AFC president for a third term, praising his efforts to develop the growth of Asian football.

Shaikh Salman thanked Uzbekistan for its contributions to Asian football and hosting regional tournaments. He affirmed continuous support for the Uzbek football federation.

Shaikh Salman presented AFC’s plans and programs that aim to improve the game in different Asian countries and promote partnership with national football federations.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Bahrain joins the world in marking the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, celebrated globally on April 28.

The international day aims to promote health and safety awareness in the work environment by preventing diseases and injuries. It also aims to spread the importance of occupational safety and health management to enhance productivity and safety in the workplace.

The Health Ministry emphasized the importance of providing a healthy work environment and its significant economic, societal, and developmental impact.

The ministry also stressed the importance of collaborating with local authorities and companies in implementing the Healthy Work Space project.

The project focuses on improving workers’ health, and safety, as well as the social and physiological work environment to raise health awareness in the public and private sectors.

The project promotes a healthy lifestyle by improving diet and physical activity, and encourages individuals to quit smoking and sheds light on the importance of mental health in the workplace.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Inter-Parliamentary Union President, Duarte Pacheco, has stressed that gender balance and equality are essential pillars of human rights, democracy, peace and development, in all their dimensions.

In this regard, he highlighted the progress made by Bahrain in this field, as reflected in the growing number of female members of the Council of Representatives.

He expressed IPU’s keenness to encourage gender equality and the exchange of the best practices among parliaments.

He asserted that Bahrain’s experience in the field of governance of gender balance applications and the launch of supportive executive tools has proven its usefulness, noting that the experience has contributed to increasing Bahraini women’s participation in the national development process, and therefore, and can be considered as a model to be emulated at the global level.

IPU President welcomed the launch of the Parliamentary Handbook for Mainstreaming Women’s Needs, which will support the ongoing efforts to achieve gender balance in Bahrain and abroad.

In a press statement following the forum held by the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) in collaboration with the Shura and Representatives councils on the sidelines of the 146th IPU Assembly, IPU President indicated that the Kingdom has been able to build an integrated model to consolidate and develop the institutional structure to ensure the sustainability of gender balance and equality, based on its fair constitutional principles, updated legislative system and effective executive procedures, within the framework of a national plan that has contributed, over the past 23 years, to enabling women to participate directly in the advancement of their homeland.

Duarte Pacheco underlined his keenness to disseminate and adopt international the best gender balance practices, stressing the importance of exchanging expertise and experiences in the areas of equal opportunities and gender balance at the global level, given the fact that global challenges can only be solved through innovative and proven solutions that take into account successful national experiences.

He affirmed the importance of gender balance in parliamentary work itself, and the need for lawmakers to understand and promote this core issue so that they can invest the tools and resources in their hands to make the world a more suitable place for the presence of women and activating their energies.

In this context, he hailed the SCW’s launch of s reference guide for parliamentary work to support the role of legislative institutions in monitoring and following up on the smooth implementation of national legislation and programmes related to women’s issues.

He emphasised that the IPU should spread Bahrain’s experience so that its member states could benefit from it.

Source: Bahrain News Agency