The Consumer Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce celebrated “Gulf Consumer Protection Week", which falls annually on the second week of March. On this occasion, H.E.A Sh. Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade, noted that the Consumer Protection Directorate at the Ministry is keen to celebrate this occasion with its GCC counterparts to emphasize the importance of preserving consumer rights in local markets, preventing unfair commercial practices and spreading awareness of smart and sustainable consumption to achieve social justice and create a safe and attractive shopping environment in Bahrain.

The Assistant Undersecretary indicated that this year, a set of activities and events were launched for different age groups, including an innovative awareness bus allocated in cooperation with the Capital Municipality at the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, to be visited by public school students to identify the role of the Consumer Protection Directorate and raise awareness of smart and sustainable consumption methods, and daily saving principles.

Sh. Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa added that HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce honored a group of commercial establishments that cooperated with the Consumer Protection Directorate to protect consumer rights during 2022, those include Lulu Hypermarket Bahrain, Talabat, Extra, AJM Kooheji Group, Yousif Khalil Almoayyed, Al-Rashed Group, JustClean, Yousif Bin Yousif Fakhro, Ebrahim K Kanoo B.S.C (c) (Toyota), Awal Al Gulf.

A second group of commercial establishments were honored for their quick response and continuous cooperation in providing the Consumer Protection Directorate with consumer data, namely Carrefour, Al Montazah, Lulu Hypermarket Bahrain, Al Helli Supermarket, Ramez, Alosra, Al Jazeera, Megamart and Babasons and Aswaq Al Awafi. Moreover, a service level agreement was signed between the Consumer Protection Directorate represented by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ms.  Eman Ahmed Al-Doseri and a number of commercial sector representatives, to organize and speed up resolving and addressing consumer complaints.

Sh. Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Local and Foreign Trade, also noted that the Consumer Protection Directorate receives all consumer complaints around the clock, through various official channels, such as Tawasul, hotline, e-mail, social media or personal attendance. Expressing his appreciation to all government and commercial

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, congratulated all national and Gulf consumer protection employees on the occasion of the GCC Consumer Protection Week, which falls annually on the second week of March and coincides with the World Consumer Rights Protection Day.

HE the Minister took the chance to congratulate all shops and partners awarded and honored during the celebration for their cooperation in resolving and addressing consumer complaints, in addition to continuously providing consumer data. Wishing to strengthen institutional and community partnerships to combat unfair commercial practices and achieve social justice and create a safe and attractive shopping environment for consumers in Bahrain. 

HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, praised the contributions and partnership between the public and private sectors, in terms of implementing economic and commercial projects, noting the role of national companies in supporting economic development and promoting Bahrain as an incubator for major investment companies and projects in the region.

This came during a meeting that gathered the Minister of Industry and Commerce, with Naseej CEO Mr. Amin AlArrayed, in the presence of Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Ms. Eman Al Doseri, where they reviewed the developments of the investment sector in general and real estate, affirming the government's continuous support for this sector.

For his part, Al-Arrayed stressed the company's keenness to explore new opportunities with the government and build on the gains of the public and private sector's partnership, implementing the company's vision to build integrated urban communities for future generations.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, received in his office this morning Mr. Tareq Fakhro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Technology Companies Society (B-TEC), who presented the members of the Board of Directors of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), on the occasion of their meetings in Bahrain from 8 to 9 March, where a number of topics related to the information technology and information services sector in Bahrain were reviewed.

The Minister praised the pivotal role "B-TEC" plays in providing innovative solutions that contribute to facilitating services and providing the appropriate environment for tech companies in Bahrain to access global markets, stressing the government's interest in the ICT sector, which has become one of the pillars of the national economy as it promotes commercial growth and e-commerce and stimulates investment in Bahrain.

For his part, "B-TEC" Chairman Tariq Fakhro stressed the importance of cooperation between the association and various government entities for the benefit of Bahrain's economy, expressing his thanks and appreciation for the Ministry's support to this vital sector.​

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, received Bahrain National Holding Company board member Mr. Jehad Yousef Amin, where a number of topics of common interest were reviewed at his office this morning.

H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro expressed his pride in the performance of national companies, praising the government's support for positive economic growth by involving all vital sectors to achieve Bahrain's ambitious development goals.

Moreover, the Minister stressed Bahrain National Holding Group's influential role in strengthening the national economy as one of the leading companies in Bahrain, noting services provided by the company in the fields of insurance and risk management.​ 

HE Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, inaugurated the "Continuous Giving 3" exhibition, organized by the Savings and Loan Society for staff of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in cooperation with Harbour Gate, on the occasion of International Women's Day and the approaching holy month of Ramadan and Mother's Day, starting March 7 to March 9 at the Financial Harbour, second floor, with the participation of a group of specialized shops, a number of employees of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and visitors.

On this occasion, H.E the Minister of Industry and Commerce stressed that such events care for the social and psychological aspects of the Ministry's employees, which reflects positively on their performance, and supports local products and events organized by the Ministry.

For her part, Mrs. Amina Al-Hamar, President of the Savings and Loan Society for staff of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce praised the support of H.E. the Minister for the "Continuous Giving 3" exhibition, noting that this event symbolizes the generosity of Ramadan and the constant giving of women, as this event achieves the objectives of the Association, which was founded in 2002, to encourage social and cultural activities.

H.E. Minister of Industry and Commerce Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro received in his office this morning HE Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Bahrain Faisal bin Hareb bin Hamad Al Busaidi, where they discussed a number of issues of common interest. ​

H.E. the Minister of Industry and Commerce praised the strength of historical relations between Bahrain and Oman, pointing out that such meetings enrich bilateral relations, and enhance cooperation, especially in the economic field, to common achieve visions and aspirations.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce succeeded in passing the external audit of the ISO 22301:2019 certification for Business Continuity System, which was implemented by the certification body for the second year in a row, and included continuous efforts to apply business continuity management and crisis management in various possible and potential circumstances, and was also able to pass the external audit of the requirements of the standard (ISO 45001:  2018) in the Occupational Health And Safety Management System to apply the best internationally approved practices.

On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, affirmed that this achievement came with unrelenting support from senior management and its belief in developing and activating systems to include business continuity, occupational health and safety and crisis management, in addition to adopting a preventive approach to reduce the impact of accidents, ensuring the continuity of basic business during times of crisis, reducing downtime periods in case of any accident and reducing the likelihood of its occurrence. This comes as a culmination of the continuous efforts to work according to international methodologies and systems. Expressing his thanks and appreciation to all employees for their efforts over the past years, noting that this entitlement reflects the Ministry's vision to improve the level and quality of the services it provides.

It is notable the Ministry is one of the first to obtain this type of advanced international certification. The Ministry is also fully committed to the application of the comprehensive Quality Management System (ISO9001:2015) according to international standard requirements, as it has recently upgraded its work by applying the best practices in the field of governance, as well as effective planning to achieve annual goals and meet customer needs, with a mechanism to control potential risks as well as effective documentation and internal audit.