His Excellency Dr. Raed Mohammed Bin Shams, Director-General of the Bahrain Institute for Public Administration (BIPA) has stated that selection of the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by BIPA, to the position of Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa International Institute of Administrative Sciences (MENA IIAS) is a clear recognition of the position the Kingdom of Bahrain has reached in the field of administrative sciences and an appreciation of the Kingdom’s development role, which has exceeded the national domain to regional and global territories in an endeavour to promote government functions in the region.
“All that has been achieved reflects the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, in realizing the ambitions of the nation”, he said. “It is the product of the wise directions of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister”, Dr. Bin Shams added.
Upon the official announcement of Bahrain winning the position during the 30th International Conference of Public Administration, which was held in the Republic of China during the period 20th through 30th September 2016, Dr. Bin Shams said: “The achievements made by Bahrain have come along a roadmap that has been well-conceived and properly founded on the basis of the National Action Charter of Bahrain, the Kingdom’s Constitution, the Bahrain 2030 Economic Vision, and the Government action plan. Dr. Bin Shams highlighted the leading role of Bahrain at various levels and attributed the country’s achievements to its capable human resources.
Dr. Bin Shams pointed out that the Kingdom of Bahrain assumes a privileged position on the world map, especially after it founded and presided over the Middle East and North Africa Network Research (MENAPAR) in 2014, embodies in BIPA. The number of studies and researches presented by BIPA was 407 discussion papers. In addition, BIPA made wide networking connections with major professional and academic organizations such as the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), the European Group of public Administration (EGPA), and the United National Development Program (UNDP). This has made BIPA a regional focus, a regional house of expertise and a reference for public administration. It contributes to spreading and adopting general culture of public administration and exchange of best practices.
“At its new location, BIPA will further serve, through its services of development, training, consultations, research, assessments and guidance, to initiate strategic development plans for public administration issues in the MENA region in cooperation with all public administration institutes in the area. The purpose is to achieve the sought for change for sustainable development of our nations”, Dr. Bin Shams pointed out.
The International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)is the largest and oldest international organization for public administration. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, it was established in 1930 and since then it has been involved in various administrative activities. Recently, specialized groups stemmed from IIAS, including the International Association of schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA), the Asian Group for Public Administration (AGPA), and the Latin American Group for Public Administration (LAGPA). The purpose is to facilitate the achievement of its vision of improvement and development of administrative sciences worldwide by introducing modern administration styles based on accountability, transparency, professionalism, creditability and endeavour towards excellence.