The Testing and Metrology Directorate in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MoICT), has recently announced that it is intensifying control on toys through the implementation of the new conformity assessment procedures, which came into effect on June 1, 2021.

The new procedures aim to tighten control over these products to ensure their safety for use by children before they enter the local markets in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

On this occasion, Shaikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade, stated that the control of children's toys products is a priority for the Ministry because children constitute a large segment of the society.

Explaining further, he said that this segment is not aware of its actions sometimes, so the responsibility is greater on the legislature and supervisory authorities to protect children from low-grade products that may pose danger to them.

"From this standpoint, the Ministry has imposed new measures on economic operators of children's toy products to ensure safety and security in these products before they enter the local markets of the Kingdom," Shaikh Hamad reaffirmed.

The Assistant Undersecretary also indicated that the new procedures on these products will not constitute a burden on merchants or importers, mentioning that some GCC have implemented these procedures for a while, and global factories have been aware of these procedures since 2011, and therefore the matter will not be new for them.

Shaikh Hamad elaborated: "Accordingly, the merchant or importer, before importing children's toys products, must verify the requirements for installing the GCC tracking code on the product, which represents the GCC conformity badge with the QR code, and the GCC model inspection certificate issued by an acceptable body accredited to the GCC Standardisation Organisation, along with the manufacturer's declaration of conformity."

It is worth noting that the provision of these requirements means that the product has undergone the necessary tests by one of the testing bodies accepted and approved by the Organisation, in accordance with international specifications and GCC technical regulations that guarantee the safety and security of this product, and therefore the competent department of the Ministry will permit the products that meet these requirements to enter the local markets.

Shaikh Hamad added that the Directorate is fully prepared to receive inquiries from factories, importers as well as buyers via Tel: 17574909, Fax: 17570730, e-mail: bsmd@www.moic.gov.bh. ​

As a result of repeated accidents caused by children's toys that do not comply with the technical regulations concerned with public safety, whether from children swallowing batteries or small parts, or even injuries due to sharp parts or ends of children's toys, The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism represented by the Testing and Metrology Directorate "National Standardisation Organisation" in the Kingdom of Bahrain, has recently participated in the research and preparation of specifications and regulations related to children's toys in cooperation with the GCC Standardisation Organisation, as well as the standardisation bodies of member states.

National Standardisation Organisation specialists participated with their counterparts from the standardisation bodies in GCC countries, and in coordination and cooperation from the GCC Standardisation Organisation in preparing a unified GCC technical regulation that includes a set of technical requirements for toys for commercial purposes in the GCC common market.

 It is worth noting that the regulation includes a set of technical requirements that economic operators (factory, supplier, trader) are required to fulfil in all stages, starting with the manufacturing stage and reaching the stage of circulation in the GCC markets, as all of these requirements are global requirements issued by the International Standardisation Organisation.

This resulted in the issuance of the GCC Technical Regulation for Children's Toys No. 131704-01BD by the decision of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Standardisation Organisation at its 17^th meeting held in Riyadh on May 8, 2013 to be implemented starting January 2014.

This regulation includes control over all children's toys designated for those under 15 years of age and includes toys accompanying food items that were announced and noted by the Ministry on April 1, 2019. This regulation also includes an explanation of the basic requirements that must be met in children's toys, whether in those which are locally produced or those that are imported from abroad to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

For its part, the Testing and Metrology Directorate has carried out in the past several inspection campaigns aimed at verifying the safety and security of the products available in the local markets to ensure the safety and security of children while using this toy. We mention the following inspection campaigns:

The Directorate is currently working to strengthen the control on children's toys, as by the middle of 2021 it will impose more stringent requirements in line with the GCC regulation of children's toys, with the aim of ensuring the safety of children's toys products and the safety of their use, and that these products have undergone many safety tests prior to their import and circulation in the local markets.

The Directorate also clarified that by the beginning of June 2021, it  will oblige the merchant/importer to provide the following requirements to allow shipments of toys to enter the Kingdom of Bahrain:

- Providing a GCC model inspection certificate for each model of children's toy products.

- Installing the Gulf tracking code on the game (Gulf Matching Badge + QR Code).

- Providing the importer's declaration of conformity.

Additionally, the Directorate confirmed that it is preparing an integrated strategy to reduce the risk of children's toys that do not comply with safety requirements in the Kingdom and the significant contribution to reducing the percentage of injuries among children because of it.

It is worth noting that the Ministry has held a series of meetings with the suppliers and importers of children's toys in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and they expressed their approval and readiness to raise the level of control over children's toys, which serves citizens and residents.

HE Mr. Zayed bin Rashed Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, has recently received Mr. Yusuf Al Binkhalil, Chief Executive Officer of the National Communication Centre (NCC).

In the meeting,  Mr. Al Zayani and Mr. Al Binkhalil reviewed a number of topics related to communication between the Ministry and the Centre.

The Minister underlined the major role played by NCC in charting the main features of the media map in the Kingdom, developing the internal and external communication system and highlighting Bahrain's civilizational image, as well as its landmark achievements across various fields, particularly economy.

Moreover, Mr. Al Zayani also lauded the Centre's strategy and goals, affirming the Ministry's full readiness to cooperate with NCC and provide it with all the necessary information and data that would facilitate its work and achieve its objectives.​

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MoICT) has today announced the closure of a women's beauty salon, adding that the necessary legal actions are being taken.

The salon continued receiving customers and delivering its regular services in violation of the decision to close some industrial and commercial outlets in order to limit the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The decision came into effect as of today.

On the occasion, Mr. Abdulaziz Al Ashraf, Assistant Undersecretary for Control and Resources, said that the teams of the Inspection Directorate will continue their inspection visits across the kingdom.

He underlined the importance of taking the decisions seriously, pledging zero tolerance for violations of the rules and decisions to curb the spread of the pandemic.​

HE Mr. Zayed bin Rashed Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA), has recently participated in the 47^th meeting of the Regional Commission for the Middle East of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) held in Riyadh.

The meeting was chaired by the United Arab Emirates, with the participation of Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of UNWTO, and a number of Ministers of Tourism in the Middle East and representatives of the member states.

The Minister stressed the importance of the meeting, considering the tremendous changes experienced on the local and regional levels.

He also underlined the prominent role played by the meeting in working closely between the attendees to solve all obstacles experienced by the tourism sector in the Middle East, and develop joint tourism plans to enhance opportunities for growth and development of this vital sector during the coming period.

During the meeting, a number of issues related to tourism were reviewed, including discussing the general work programme for the period 2020-2021, discussing harmonised standards for protocols for the Middle East region, naming the host country for the World Tourism Day for the year 2023 and a number of issues related to tourism in the region.

As part of the Tourism Promotion Conference and the 47^th meeting of the Regional Commission for the Middle East of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) held in Riyadh, HE Mr. Zayed bin Rashed Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, today met HE Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khatib, Minister of Tourism in Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, the ministers reviewed the key government plans and programmes carried out by the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the tourism sector, increase means of cooperation and activate intra-tourism between the two brotherly countries.

The ministers also reviewed the positive returns of reopening the King Fahd Causeway and discussing the opportunities available to attract cruise ships in accordance with the existing precautionary controls and procedures.

Mr. Al Zayani also underlined the key steps taken by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to advance the tourism sector, which today has become one of the pillars of economic development in the country and the region. ​

HE Mr. Zayed bin Rashed Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, met Dr Abdulla Masum, Minister of Tourism in the Republic of the Maldives, on the side-lines of the 47^th meeting of the Regional Commission for the Middle East of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The ministers discussed the joint relations between the two friendly countries and ways to enhance cooperation and joint coordination between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Maldives, and to benefit from the experiences of both sides in the field of tourism, especially in the field of marine and water tourism, and to get acquainted closely with the most important sectors related to this aspect, in addition to discussing a number of related issues of common interest

HE Mr. Zayed bin Rashed Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA), has received today HE Mr. Ramzi Msharrafieh, Lebanese Minister of Tourism, on the side-lines of the 47^th meeting of the Regional Commission for the Middle East of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) held in Riyadh.

During the meeting, the Minister stressed the depth of the brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Lebanese Republic, noting in the same context the importance of mutual events and visits between officials in both countries and their role in raising the levels of economic exchange between them and strengthening their joint relations.

Mr. Al Zayani reviewed the economic and investment climate, and the major developments in the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the simplified procedures followed by the Respected Government in order to provide the appropriate atmosphere to establish and attract investment projects in the country.​