As part of its endeavours to support and assist the Purchasing Authorities subject to the Government Tender Law, Bahrain Tender Board held its first open meeting, represented by the Technical Evaluation Directorate, with participation of 168 employees and specialists representing 50 Purchasing Authorities. This meeting was part of the Board’s plan to hold monthly regular meetings for employees of ministries, authorities, institutions and government companies.

His Excellency Mr. Jamal Abdulaziz Al-Alawi, the Secretary General of the Tender Board, emphasized that this meeting aims primarily to contribute to achieving the strategic objectives of the Board in enhancing government procurement practices and systems, characterized by effectiveness, efficiency and ensuring the highest level of fairness and equal opportunities. This is achieved by enabling partners from Purchasing Authorities to have a thorough understanding of the operations, procedures, laws, circulars and decisions issued by the Board, which in turn leads to the integrity of the procedures and operations carried out by these Purchasing Authorities. This positively reflects on the quality and comprehensiveness of the requests submitted to the Board, reduces the percentage of declined requests, expedites decision-making processes, reduces the timeline for tenders, speeds up the implementation of government projects, and provides necessary services to citizens in accordance with the established plans.

Mr. Jamal Al Alawi emphasized that the meeting is a fundamental pillar that contributes to knowledge transfer for Purchasing Authorities subject to the Government Regulating Government Tenders & Purchases Law. This, in turn, will contribute to improving the quality of government tendering and bidding processes, as well as increasing the percentage of integrated requests submitted by Purchasing Authorities. It also enhances the response time for incoming requests to the Board and the implementation of government projects according to the established timelines.

During the first meeting, attention focused on the topic of contract extension and renewal in accordance with the aforementioned law. It is planned that each meeting will discuss a specific topic, clarify important procedures and operations related to it, and address queries from the Purchasing Authorities regarding government tenders and auctions. This, in turn, will contribute to enhancing the government procurement system and fostering cooperation with stakeholders in government entities to ensure the accuracy and speed of procedures.