Manama: His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at Gudaibiya Palace. The Cabinet commended His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s Royal Order designating 2026 as the Kingdom of Bahrain’s “Year of Isa Al Kabeer,” honoring the founder of the modern state, His Highness Isa Al Kabeer. The Cabinet directed government entities to take necessary measures to commemorate His Highness’ legacy.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the Cabinet also praised the approval of the 2026-2030 strategy for the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), led by HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Tamkeen’s achievements in 2025, including support for over 52,700 Bahrainis and enterprises, were recognized. The initiatives focused on labour market integration, career development, and business digitalisation.
The Cabinet acknowledged Bahrain’s diplomatic achievements in light of the upcoming Bahrain Diplomatic Day on 14 January. The progress made in offering three job opportunities to every registered Bahraini job seeker by the end of 2025 was reviewed, with 5,078 citizens employed under this initiative. This contributed significantly to strengthening the Kingdom’s labour market.
Moreover, the Cabinet noted that 26,963 Bahrainis were employed, surpassing the annual target at 108%. New entrants to the labour market reached 9,149, exceeding the annual target at 114%, while training programmes achieved 150% of their target. The Ministry of Labour was tasked with employing 25,000 Bahrainis in 2026, including 10,000 new entrants, through enhanced private sector collaboration.
Several memoranda were approved, including restructuring government entities, establishing the National Committee for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, and a draft statement on cultural heritage conservation with the USA. The National Aviation Strategy 2026-2027 and Bahrain’s Legislative Plan for 2026 were also endorsed.
The Cabinet reviewed the performance of government entities across various systems in 2025 compared to 2024, and several reports on Bahrain’s participation in international meetings and visits were discussed.