Syed Hussein Al -Qassab
The Shura Council approved the report of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee regarding a draft law to ratify the cooperation agreement in the field of ports and commercial maritime navigation between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the State of Kuwait, accompanying Decree No. 91 of 2024 AD.
The decision of the committee, Hamad Al -Nuaimi, stressed that the agreement aims to develop cooperation and coordination between the two countries in the transportation of passengers and goods between the ports of the two parties, and the development and development of relations between the authorities and institutions concerned with maritime transport, and granting all facilities that contribute to developing maritime transport operations between the ports of the two countries, supporting national ships registered in them and granting them preferred treatment when they are in the waters and ports of either of them.
The decision of the committee pointed out that the agreement confirms the deep historical ties and the distinguished brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the sisterly state of Kuwait, and strengthens the existing economic and commercial relations between them, through the development of maritime navigation between the ports of the two countries, and the establishment of the foundations of joint cooperation in the field of maritime transport.
For his part, the head of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee, Dr. Ali Al -Rumaihi, that the draft ratification of the cooperation agreement in the field of ports and commercial maritime navigation between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the State of Kuwait comes in support of everything that would enhance the growth of the maritime navigation sector and ports, due to the presence of support for national ships and permanent coordination in a way that preserves the rights of all, and contributes to the growth of this sector.
In turn, a member of the Shura Council, Abdullah Al -Nuaimi, expressed his objection to the parties to the agreement, specifically for the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he indicated that the agreement states that the Ministry of Communications and Communications is the concerned authority for the Kingdom of Bahrain, but he sees it is more appropriate for the Ministry of Interior to be the competent authority.
In response, the Minister of Affairs of the Shura Council and Representatives Ghanem Al -Buainain stated that whoever determines the parties that signed the agreements are the relevant authorities in each country. In Bahrain, the Ministry of Communications and Communications was, while in the sisterly state of Kuwait, according to the regime there and the competence of departments in Kuwait, the authority was the Ministry of Interior.
With regard to the signing of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he is delegated to sign all agreements with other countries, stressing that in some cases the ambassador is authorized to sign as well.
On the other hand, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications and Communications for Ports and Maritime Navigation, Badr Al -Mahmoud, stated in response to the question of the Shura Council member Dalal Al -Zayed whether the agreement includes the imposition of training, that one of the most important provisions of the agreement between Bahrain and Kuwait is the presence of mutual training between the parties, stressing that the sisterly state of Kuwait has suitable naval fleets, especially those specialized in transporting petroleum products.
He stressed that Bahraini workers will benefit through training on Kuwaiti ships, in addition to exchanging information on the issue of maritime training.
He pointed out that the training institutes are present in the Gulf countries, but the two sides of the agreement do not have training headquarters, pointing to the presence of specialized universities such as “Bahrain Politokink”, as they have a specialized program in logistics, and one of its parts is a marine part, and that the sisterly state of Kuwait has private training centers that will allow workers on the back of Bahraini ships to train in it.
