Labour officials work on draft of new declaration

Abu Dhabi: Delegations from 22 nations, comprising labour ministers and senior officials, worked together on a draft of the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Sunday.

The "Ministerial Consultations on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin in Asia: The Abu Dhabi Dialogue" begins on Monday.

Titled the 'Abu Dhabi Dialogue', the fourth edition of the meeting will be a two-day event. The Abu Dhabi Declaration will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting with the aim of benefiting workers as well as labour-sending and receiving countries. The declaration will be the result of collective efforts of ministers, officials and specialists representing several countries.

The keynote address of the meeting will be delivered by UAE Labour Minister Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, followed by the Director General of the International Office of Migration Brunson McKinley.

Speaking at Sunday's preparatory session, Al Ka'abi said, "I look forward to hearing the views of labour ministers who committed their time and effort to this process. We will hold several consensus building meetings in between sessions and put the final touches on a declaration to conclude this consultation."

Yousuf Abdul Gani, Assistant Undersecretary, who heads the Labour Ministry delegation at the meeting, said the meeting will discuss elements of the proposed partnership between countries of origin and destination.

Consultations: Colombo process

The first Ministerial Consultation was held between Asian labour sending nations in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2003, and is called the Colombo Process.

Recommendations were made for effective management of overseas employment programmes and followed up at the second Ministerial Consultation in 2004 in Manila. In 2005, several countries of destination, including the GCC, participated in the third Ministerial Consultation in Bali. The purpose of the Colombo Process is to share national experiences on overseas employment.