Foreign press club approved by ministry

Bahrain's Ministry of Information has approved the establishment of an independent Foreign Press Club, journalists said yesterday.

The club aims to host media activities in line with the kingdom's current atmosphere of press freedom, said the club's preparatory committee.

The committee was elected on Thursday by foreign correspondents working in Bahrain. Its task is to prepare, in coordination with the ministry, the ground for the embellishment of the club, draw its basic charter and find a permanent location.

The committee includes Mohammad Almezel, Gulf News Bureau Chief; Tamam Abu Safi, correspondent for US Arabic Radio Sawa and Jamal Assiri, the BBC's reporter in Bahrain.

The club's membership is to be restricted to around 30 accredited foreign media representatives in Bahrain.

The club will be an independent entity working in cooperation with the ministry's foreign media department to apply the press freedom in the kingdom, a member of the committee said.

"The ministry has given us the preliminary approval and promised us every help possible to set up the club, which would be an addition to the already existing bodies like the Journalists Association and the newly-set up Gulf Press Union," he said.

Funds for setting up the club are expected to come from the ministry for the time being.

"That is a gesture that would never be forgotten by the journalists," he said, pointing out that Shaikh Khalifa Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the assistant undersecretary for foreign media has shown "great interest in the project since day one."