Category: Politics

A telephone call was held today between Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, and Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib.

The two ministers reviewed the progress of the Bahraini-Lebanese relations, and ways to bolster them to meet the aspirations of the two countries and their brotherly peoples.

They also discussed issues of mutual interest.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Speaker Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, congratulated Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Saadoun on his election as the new speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly.

Al Musallam wished his Kuwaiti counterpart success, noting his track record in parliamentary work.

The Speaker affirmed Bahrain’s Council of Representative’s keenness to enhance cooperation with the Kuwaiti National Assembly.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa, Bahraini Ambassador to Canada, residing in Washington, met with Anthony Rota, Speaker of Canadian House of Commons.

During the meeting, the ambassador discussed Bahraini-Canadian relations and expanding cooperation in various disciplines, including economic, educational and security sectors.

The ambassador said the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, launched by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the economic recovery plan led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, provided a conducive environment for cooperation opportunities in the economic sector.

He hailed the launch of the Canadian-Bahrain Friendship Group and looked forward to its contributions to strengthening relations for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

Speaker Rota congratulated Shaikh Abdullah on the launch of the Canadian-Bahrain Friendship Group.

He praised the role of Bahrain in contributing to upholding the security of maritime navigation in the region and stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral relations.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The steering committee for following up the executive agreement between the Iraqi government and the US Agency for International Development held its first meeting at the Ministry of Planning.

The Ministry of Planning said in a statement, “The Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, Maher Hammad Johan, headed the Iraqi side, while the American side was headed by Todd Sorenson, Director of the US Agency for Development in Iraq.”

The Undersecretary affirmed “the Ministry’s readiness to carry out the work of the committee in order to proceed quickly in implementing the executive agreement signed between the two sides,” noting that “this meeting is the first for the committee that undertakes the implementation of the terms of the agreement and the stipulated tasks according to the terms of reference document.

“The executive agreement aims to promote economic growth, enhance citizens’ confidence in the state, meet the needs of vulnerable population groups and combat violent extremism,” Johan said, noting that “the meeting discussed government directions in light of the new ministerial curriculum, which included several priorities, including: combating financial and administrative corruption, supporting the poor, vulnerable and low-income groups, and developing and improving services that affect the lives of citizens.

He added, “The meeting included a discussion of the allocated and unallocated financial amounts committed to implement ongoing activities within the Agency’s activities and the new amounts distributed under the agreement and its objectives, as well as a discussion of the funding mechanism for the agreement and the mechanism for selecting new projects, as well as the position of previous projects of the US Agency and the next steps.” The meeting also discussed reviewing the Agency’s ongoing programs and aligning them with the government program and coming up with a list of programs that represent the government’s priority in light of its new ministerial platform, to be presented to the committee and in coordination with the relevant government agencies in line with the terms of the signed agreement.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Vice Admiral Abdullah Khamis Al Raisi, Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) received in his office at Al Murtafaa Garrison today a delegation from the Ministry of Defense in Japan, headed by Miura Jun, Director General for International Affairs of the Bureau of Defense Policy in the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

The two sides exchanged views and discussed several topics of common interest.

The meeting was attended by Brigadier Hamed Abdullah Al Balushi, SAF Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Planning and the Military Attaché at the Embassy of Japan in Muscat.

Source: Oman News Agency

The National Committee for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) today held its first meeting for the current year at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti, Minister of Health, in the presence of HH Dr. Mona Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Cooperation in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and Chairperson of the Committee along with representatives of various sectors and authorities.

The Minister of Health stressed the importance of strengthening the efforts of various authorities in reducing the significant burden of non-communicable diseases, noting that the NCDs represent economic and social burdens to the world and Oman.

On her turn, HH Dr. Mona underlined the need for redouble efforts in the prevention of NCDs.

During the meeting, Dr. Shadha Saud Al Raisi, Director of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Directorate General of Primary Healthcare and Rapporteur of the Committee, reviewed the global and local burden of NCDs. She highlighted the efforts exerted to prevent and control the NCDs including the progress in implementing the National Policy and Multisectoral Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), which was approved and launched in February 2018.

It is estimated that non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer are responsible for 80% of all deaths in the Sultanate of Oman, and that one in five adults dies due to non-communicable diseases before the age of 70.

The prevalence rates of risk factors causing non-communicable diseases are also high and increasing, as the prevalence of overweight and obesity is estimated at 66%. In the Sultanate of Oman, the average daily consumption of salt is high, reaching 8.5 grams per day, while the daily average salt consumption recommended by the World Health Organization is 5 grams per day.

The NCDs annually cause economic losses estimated at RO1.1 billion annually. 74% of this cost is due to direct medical costs, therefore the prevention of non-communicable diseases is an essential pillar to reduce the burden of these diseases.

The feasibility study of investing in NCDs indicated that it is possible to avoid the death of 19,000 people in the next 15 years if emphasis is laid on four packages of interventions, namely policies to reduce salt consumption in food, reduce tobacco use, interventions to raise awareness of physical activity and to expand clinical interventions to control cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

It is worth mentioning that the role of the National NCDs Committee is to ensure multi-sectoral cooperation between all parties concerned. Moreover, it is concerned with developing plans in the field of NCDs prevention and control, following up their implementation, and proposing draft laws, regulations and decisions related to the safety and health of members of the society and their surrounding environment

Source: Oman News Agency

People’s Assembly held on Monday a session, headed by Speaker, Hamouda Sabbagh, to discuss a number of issues related to the citizens’ daily life.

The MPs approved a draft law, that stipulates ratification of Syria’s accession to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), after conducting a general consultation about the draft.

They underlined the significance of the draft to boost the use of renewable energies and reduce gas emissions resulted from power generation with fossil fuels.

Electricity Minister, Ghassan al-Zamil, for his part, noted that (IRENA) provided the consultation and support to the member states in a way that contributed to improving regulatory frameworks and capacity-building in the domain of training in all specialties to enhance the wide and sustainable use of renewable energy.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The Syrian Ambassador in Muscat, Idris Maya discussed with the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Faisal al Rawas bilateral cooperation between the two countries , especially in the economic and trade fields.

Both sides reviewed the preparations being made for holding the 6th joint Syrian-Omani governmental committee and the Syrian-Omani Business Forum.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Preliminary statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed that the total volume of electricity production in Oman until the end of March 2023 grew to 7,483.1 gigawatts per hour (GWh), up by 0.1 percent, compared the corresponding period in 2022.

A’Dakhiliyah Governorate took the lead in high producers of electricity. It posted a 330.8% growth to the volume of 7.8 GWh at the end of March 2023, compared to 1.8 GWh during the corresponding period in 2022.

The governorates of A’Dhahirah, South Al Batinah and North Al Batinah registered a lumpsum growth of 2.6 percent in electricity production at the end of March to 4,775.9 GWh.

Meanwhile, the total volume of electricity production in the Governorate of Dhofar rose by 15.5 percent to 942.5 GWh, followed in the upward trend by the governorates of North A’Sharqiyah and South A’Sharqiyah, which jointly posted 12.2 percent increase to 1,608 GWh.

The Governorate of Musandam also saw a rise of 1.9 percent, in electricity production to 71.5 GWh.

However, in the Governorate of Muscat, the total electricity production went down by 95.1 percent to 22 GWh by the end of March 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022. Total electricity production in the Al Wusta Governorate grew mildly by 0.2 percent to 61.5 GWh.

It is worth noting that Oman’s net production of electricity stood at 7,245.9 GWh. It covers the purchases of Oman Power and Water Procurement Company and Rural Areas Electricity Company, as well as production from auto generators and rented diesel units.

The total water production in Oman grew by 2.4 percent to more than 122 million (122, 275,700) cubic metres till the end of March 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

In the meantime, the volume of water production in the Governorate of Muscat grew by 3.2 percent to more than 53 million cubic metres (53,150,400). In the Dhofar Governorate, water production rose by 5.2 percent to 17,198,000 cubic metres. Other governorates registered 0.7 percent increase in water production to 51,927,400 cubic metres.

Source: Oman News Agency

With the aim of increasing the efficiency and profitability of the existing power plants operating on fuel and gas, and with great government support, the rehabilitation work of the first section of Deir Ali power plant is ongoing.

The first section of the plant consists of two gas turbines and a steam turbine that operates as a combined circuit with a contracted capacity of up to 700 megawatts.

During an inspection tour conducted by Prime Minister, Eng. Hussein Arnous, accompanied by Minister of Electricity, Eng. Ghassan al-Zamil, on Sunday evening, they were briefed on the maintenance and rehabilitation work that is taking place at Deir Ali power plant, the stages it has reached and the percentage of completion.

The Prime Minister underlined the importance of rehabilitating and maintaining Deir Ali power plant, because of its great importance in supplying the electrical network, contributing to improving the electricity situation, securing energy demand, and providing part of the citizens’ needs.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Russian Foreign Ministry warned against any attempts to destabilize the situation around Transnistria, affirming that any provocations against the Russian military there will be considered as an attack on Russia.

“We warn against any attempts to destabilize the situation around Transnistria. The Russian military are in the region on legitimate grounds as part of the joint peacekeeping forces and the operational group of Russian forces,” Head of the second department of the CIS countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexey Polishchuk said in a statement to TASS on Sunday.

“Any actions that pose a threat to their security will be considered in accordance with international law as attack on the Russian Federation,” he stressed.

He added that the Russian armed forces “will respond adequately to any provocations” against the Russian military in Transnistria and will provide protection for compatriots, the Russian peacekeeping contingent, as well as military depots in Kolbasna.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The Global Gathering in Support of the Choice of Resistance Conference in Egypt has demanded the withdrawal of the US and Turkish occupation forces from the Syrian territory, underscoring the importance of Arab solidarity to liberate the entire Arab territory from occupation. During a symposium entitled “Syria after Arab Summit and the developments of situation in Lebanon”, General Coordinator of the Gathering, Dr. Jamal Zahran, said “Syria’s return to the Arab League is a victory for Syria and Arabism.”

Zahran called for Arab solidarity in confronting all the dangers facing the whole region, such occupation, economic crises, or attempts to impose domination.

In turn, member of the Egyptian Socialist Party, Dr. Karima al-Hafnawi, said that return of Syria to the Arab League is a legitimate right, and Arab countries must stand with Syria and contribute to the reconstruction process in the country.

She noted that Arab national security begins with Syria which has defeated terrorism.

For his part, Head of the Egyptian National Accord Party, Mohamed Refaat, said that all what Syria has been exposed to was a scheme that targeted Syria and the Arabs, adding that Damascus is the gateway to national security for Egypt.

Egyptian Journalist, Amr Nassef, said that Syria’s stance in support of the resistance made it targeted by the colonial powers, calling for joint Arab action to help in the reconstruction process.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency