Humaidan heads the Bahrain delegation in the "Abu Dhabi Dialogue"
17-10-2019
His Excellency Mr Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour and Social Development and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, headed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s delegation to the consultative ministerial meeting of Asian labour‑sending and labour‑receiving countries (Abu Dhabi Dialogue 5), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 16 to 17 October 2019. The meeting brought together labour ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and their counterparts from Asian countries that send migrant workers, alongside representatives of specialised international organisations—notably the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organization (ILO)—as well as academics focused on economics and migration. Participants reviewed and advanced cooperation frameworks among Abu Dhabi Dialogue member states and with other regional labour‑mobility tracks. Deliberations covered the forum’s role within the ILO’s “Future of Work” project (2019), current and prospective avenues for collaboration, and the legislative foundations needed to support safe, orderly movement of labour between sending and receiving countries. His Excellency commended the United Arab Emirates for hosting the forum and ensuring the conditions for its success. He affirmed Bahrain’s support for joint Asian and Gulf efforts to strengthen balanced labour relations that protect the rights and obligations of both parties in line with applicable regulations and legislation. He noted that the meeting would produce recommendations to deepen cooperation among member states in raising living standards and protections for expatriate workers, refining recruitment and employment mechanisms in accordance with international standards, and expanding worker financial‑literacy efforts—particularly in the domestic work sector—to promote safe use of banking services and remittance channels. Humaidan underscored the forum’s role in operationalising policies and tools to curb negative practices that undermine healthy workplace relations and to prevent violations affecting migrant workers in both sending and receiving countries. He further emphasised the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation among member states to harmonise occupational skills frameworks and to facilitate the issuance and mutual recognition of professional certificates. His Excellency also participated in the GCC labour ministers’ coordination meeting and held a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements with labour ministers and heads of delegation from participating GCC and Asian countries, alongside working sessions with representatives of participating international organisations. The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation on labour mobility and the exchange of technical expertise, and concluded with an agreement to reinforce channels of communication and dialogue between the Kingdom of Bahrain and sisterly and friendly countries.