By IANS
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the fourth ministerial meeting on overseas contractual labour from Asian countries, known as Colombo Process, Jan 21-22 next year in Abu Dhabi, news agency WAM reported Thursday.
The Colombo Process meeting is co-organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration, and provides members an informal environment for engaging in dialogue on issues related to overseas employment.
Participants in the meet include both originating countries of migrant labour and their destinations.
Thousands of migrant labourers from India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam arrive in search of jobs in the five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Yemen, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore.
The UAE Minister of Labour, Ali bin Abdullah al Ka’abi said, “The UAE’s hosting of this important meeting reflects on its commitment to increasing the benefits of contractual employment for the people and countries involved.”
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Contractual Labour Mobility in Asia: Five Key Partnerships for Development between Countries of Origin and Destination.”
“This meeting exemplifies the way countries of origin from Asia and countries of destination from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) can come together to find practical ways to improve the well-being of Asian contractual workers in the Gulf region,” said Brunson McKinley, director general of IOM.
Immediately after the Colombo Process meeting, the UAE will also host the second Gulf Forum on Temporary Contractual Labour Jan 23-24.
The purpose of the event is to address issues of contractual labour in GCC countries including labour relations and a framework for collaboration between the GCC and Asian states.
The forum is being held in partnership with the GCC Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs and in collaboration with IOM, the International Labour Organization and the Arab Labour Organization. Ministers from GCC partner countries, as well as senior officials, experts, representatives of labour and employer organizations, and NGO’s would attend the meet.
The Colombo Process was established in 2003 by bringing together ten Asian labour origin countries from South and South-East Asia to initiate regional dialogue and cooperation on management of overseas labour.
It is the first time that a Colombo Process meeting is being held in a labour destination country.