Bahrain Minister of Labour and Social Development to attend Abu Dhabi Dialogue in Sri Lanka

Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan discussing and broaching issues of significance, interest and importance with regard to his visit to participate at Abu Dhabi Dialogue in Colombo with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka Dr. A. Saj U. Mendis at the Ministry of Labour in Manama, Bahrain

The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Bahrain Dr. A. Saj U. Mendis paid a call on Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, since he would be participating at the high profile Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) in Colombo from 23 to 24 January 2017. 

The Abu Dhabi Dialogue, which was established in 2008, consists of 18 Member States including 11 from Colombo Process Countries and six from GCC Members and three Observer States (Japan, South Korea and Singapore) and is a forum to address developments and dynamics in labour mobility in Asia. The key objectives of ADD are developing and sharing of knowledge on labour market trends, skills profiles and remittance policies; building of capacity for effective matching of labour supply and demand; prevention of illegal recruitment and unethical practices, and developing an expansive and comprehensive approach to manage the labour and migrant employment market on a mutually beneficial basis, thus benefiting the peoples of sending nations and receiving nations respectively.

Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain was invited by Minister of Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka to participate at the Ministerial Consultation of the ADD. Minister of Labour and Social Development expressed his earnest satisfaction and appreciation 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 corporate, were happy to work with Sri Lankans since they are highly committed, dedicated, adaptable and honest let alone competent. 

Ambassador 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 and commercial 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 of Labour and Ambassador Dr. Mendis agreed that both the countries are rapidly developing island states and working closely and efficaciously with each other and would continue to progress and to advance the economy of Sri Lanka as well as would facilitate the economy of Bahrain to become one of the more developed nations in the region. Both the Minister and the Ambassador agreed to further widen, to deepen and to strengthen 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.