Ambassador discusses high profile visit of Lankan Minister with Minister of Labour of Bahrain

The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Bahrain Dr A. Saj U. Mendis, met with the Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, at the Ministry, to discuss primarily the forthcoming visit of Thalatha Atukorale, Chair of the Abu-Dhabi Dialogue and Minister of Foreign Employment and Justice of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as other concomitant issues relating to migrant workers of Sri Lankan nationality. The congenial and affable meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes and was attended by the Directors and Advisors of the office of the Minister.

Thalatha Atukorale was elected as the Chair of the estimable Abu-Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) in January. The Abu-Dhabi Dialogue was formed in January of 2008 and has a total of 18 member countries. Out of the 18 members, 11 countries are Labour Sending, known as Colombo Process Countries, and 7 are Destination countries. All the 18 Member countries are Asian and they consist of well over 1/3rd of the global population. Some of the Member countries are China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Sri Lanka. 

Minister Atukorale would be the Chair of ADD for a period of two years. The key objectives of ADD are to develop and share knowledge on labour market trends, profiles, and remittance policies; build capacity for more efficacious matching of labour supply and demand; prevent legal recruitment; promote welfare and protection measures; and develop a comprehensive framework for contractual work of migrants, thus nurturing both the labour sending and labour receiving countries. The Abu-Dhabi Dialogue is often referred as a milestone in regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility.

During this visit of Minister Atukorale, she would be calling on the counterpart Minister, the Prime Minister, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister and other senior most officials and political figures of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Ambassador Dr. Mendis discussed the comprehensive program of Minister Atukorale and added that she would be discussing the utility and benefits of efficacious execution of the decisions and guidelines of the ADD and would solicit more semi-skilled and skilled employment opportunities for Sri Lankan nationals in Bahrain, among others.  

She would be visiting as a Special Guest of the Government and, particularly, of the Minister of Labour and Social Development of Bahrain. Minister Atukorale, during this visit, would be visiting five other labour-receiving countries in the Gulf region in the capacity of Chair of ADD.

The Minister of Labour and Social Development expressed to Ambassador Dr. Mendis his satisfaction of the expatriate community of Sri Lanka, working and domiciled in Bahrain, for their contribution in progressing and advancing the economy of Bahrain. The Minister also added that most of the employers, both public and private, were happy to work with Sri Lankans since they are highly committed, dedicated, adaptable and honest let alone competent. Dr. Mendis deeply appreciated the Minister for the contribution and facilitation extended to Sri Lankan expatriate nationals employed in Bahrain, over the years.

Dr. Mendis enunciated the vitality of the migrant workers for Sri Lanka stating that they contribute nearly 9% of the total GDP. The contributions and remittances of the migrant workers are the highest and the largest in the country, thus placing Sri Lanka on an economic trajectory. He also added that the current Government is highly focused on promotion and advancement of economic diplomacy, which encompasses securing of high skilled and high-paid employment to nationals of Sri Lanka in foreign countries including that of Bahrain.

Both the Minister and the Ambassador agreed to further widen, deepen and elevate the bilateral relations, in all spheres, between the two countries, thus benefiting both the peoples and the countries, particularly, economically, financially and commercially, by extending result oriented, constructive and focused employment opportunities to qualified and skilled nationals of Sri Lanka.