ABU DHABI: Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, accepted the chairmanship of Abu Dhabi Dialogues on behalf of the government of Pakistan.
Speaking to the ministers of member states and senior officials at summit, Khusro Bakhtyar set out a vision for a new era of regional collaboration, saying that legal migration, universal skill development and certification as well as job and social security of workers would remain the prime focus during Pakistani’s term.
Pakistan will lead the forum for next two years 2022-23. In his keynote speech, the minister expressed his gratitude to government of UAE for hosting the summit and thanked the member states, especially government of Nepal, for reposing their confidence in Pakistan by electing it new Chair for the next term.
He said that the government had laid special emphasis on the well-being and welfare of Overseas Pakistanis and introduced many policy reforms. He stated that migrant workers bring pride to our nation and are considered an effective bridge between their countries of destination and Pakistan.
While thanking the departing chair, the minister lauded the UAE’s leadership and said that Pakistan would try its best to build an effective action plan on the foundation already laid out. He hoped that Pakistan would be guided by the collective wisdom of all member states in achieving the common goals of the forum.
While commenting on strategies to meet the emerging challenges, he urged to identify and plug the gaps on both demand and supply sides He stressed the need for special focus on the skill upgradation of the available workforce to meet the new requirements. He proposed collective agreement upon some mutually accepted standards and certification with help of international stakeholders.
The minister called to make serious efforts to bridge the gaps through the encouragement of legal migration and policy level support to new migrants to save innocent people from the exploiters and traffickers.
In his concluding remarks, he stated that Abu Dhabi Dialogue is an important platform for exchange of views between member states as well as sharing of best practices. He reiterated that Pakistan has always used this platform for mutual benefit and would carry on with its efforts to serve everyone in the region during its term.
