UAE to host labour mobility process HQ

The UAE is all set to be the permanent headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, which involves 20 regional and Asian countries aiming to continually improve the management of labour mobility.

This was announced by Humaid bin Deemas, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour, during the opening session of the second senior officials’ meeting of the ‘Abu Dhabi Dialogue’ in Manila, the Philippines, on Tuesday.

“I take this opportunity to stress the importance of the progress made by the Abu Dhabi Dialogue since the convening of the first Ministerial Consultation in the UAE Capital in 2008; our dialogue has not only succeeded in fostering constructive dialogue among our member countries, it has also contributed to elevating mutual trust and identifying avenues of collaboration that have concretely improved the administration of the contract employment cycle and enhance its outcomes,” Bin Deemas said.

The biggest achievement has been the success of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, which aims to promote the movement of Asian expatriate labour to the GCC, in addition to many other achievements that will bring stability to the labour market in the region.

“Our goal remains to develop tools of bilateral and multilateral cooperation that continually improve the management of labour mobility through the exchange of expertise and the implementation of best practices, as identified in the Technical Report that we are about to finalise and the ensuing Framework of Regional Cooperation that we will submit to their excellencies the ministers when they meet two days from now,” Bin Deemas added. Bin Deemas mentioned all countries that are ready to adopt the UAE’s proposal — the seven labour-importing countries of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Yemen and the 11 labour-exporting countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea participate are observers.

“Towards this end, I am pleased to announce that the UAE has offered to host the permanent site of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in our Capital and that, in the course of our deliberations, we will submit for your consideration a set of guidelines for sustaining and moving the Abu Dhabi process forward so that it is able to achieve its objectives,” he said.

“I also hope that you will have the opportunity to become acquainted with a joint initiative undertaken by the UAE and India to streamline the registration and validation of employment contracts and consider leveraging the electronic contract validation system developed by our two countries to enter into similar bilateral agreements,” he added.

ahmedjamal@khaleejtimes.com