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Monday, November 9 - 2009

Labour Fund and UNIDO ITPO Bahrain sign working arrangement to support each other

In a move that is bound to have far-reaching positive implications for entrepreneurs and for the development of SMEs in the Kingdom, the Labour Fund (LF) and the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Bahrain have signed a working arrangement that will see both development agencies pooling resources and strengthening the facilities available to the Kingdom's thriving private sector.

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  • On the left side: Dr. Hashim Sulaiman Hussein, Head, Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). On the right side: Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh, Vice President for Enterprise and Human Capital Development, Labour Fund.
    On the left side: Dr. Hashim Sulaiman Hussein, Head, Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). On the right side: Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh, Vice President for Enterprise and Human Capital Development, Labour Fund.
The Working Arrangement was signed between the Labour Fund's Vice President for Enterprise and Human Capital Development Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh and the UNIDO ITPO's Bahrain Head Dr. Hashim Hussein.

"We see this Working Arrangement as a landmark move between two bodies that pledge their commitment to work together for the betterment of the private sector in Bahrain,"


said the Labour Fund's Vice President for Enterprise and Human Capital Development Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh.

"The Labour Fund has completed a year of pioneering work, putting in place a series of initiatives that strengthen private enterprise, make available world-class resources to entrepreneurs and SMEs who form the backbone of the growth engine in Bahrain and have opened the doors to human development initiatives that will make Bahrainis the employees of choice in the future," he added.

He added, "With this Working Arrangement, we will work closely with UNIDO to tap into the international resources that this world body has and offer our local perspective to tailor it to the specific needs of Bahrain."

The move was welcomed by UNIDO's ITPO Head Dr. Hashim Hussein who said it was yet another step in the right direction for the strengthening of the Bahrain - Arab Model.

"The remarkable success of UNIDO ITPO activities in Bahrain have led to several 'role-model' programmes that have been adopted in other countries to nurture their private enterprise, especially the SME growth," Dr. Hussein said.

He added:

"By working with the Labour Fund, we shall be creating a powerful engine of progress that will match Bahraini requirements to global resources through UNIDO and tailor them to Bahrain's unique needs. We are indeed looking forward to unveiling a strong raft of programmes with the Labour Fund."


UNIDO is co-funded by the Government of Bahrain and UNIDO. ITPO services primarily serves Bahrain but has also extended services to other countries in the Arab Region. ITPO Bahrain is designed to facilitate the mobilisation of foreign resources (technical, managerial, financial etc) for enhancing industrial partnership between companies in Bahrain and other nations.

The main objective of the office is to contribute to the industrialisation efforts of Bahrain for promoting joint industrial investment opportunities, identifying and mobilising the technical, financial, managerial and other resources required for the implementation of specific industrial investment projects and fostering business cooperation through the promotion of domestic investment and the mobilisation of foreign direct investments.
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Notes and media contacts

The Labour Fund:
The Kingdom of Bahrain has taken vital steps towards a labour market reform which is an essential stride to ensure that the human capital of the country is developed and that employment is made more attractive for localization as well as to improve performances of businesses. The strive towards labour reform will impact the Kingdom's economy and raise standards of living as well as pose a challenging commitment to the improvement of services in Bahrain.

The Labour Fund is a semi-autonomous yet independent authority which formulates strategic and operational plans to use the fees collected by the LMRA in order to enhance the overall prosperity of Bahrain by investing in Bahraini employability, job creation, and social support. Hence, the Labour Fund's main objectives are (i) to support Bahrainis to become the employees of choice, and (ii) to support high quality private sector job creation and helping the private sector cope with the impact of labour market reform.

To achieve these objectives, the LF will invest (i) in the cost and quality competitiveness of Bahrainis (e.g., reduction of cost of employing Bahrainis relative to expatriates, investment in skill and work ethic development programs of Bahrainis) and tackle employment barriers on both employer and labour market entrants sides through a combination of financial incentives and capability building, and (ii) in supporting the private sector's adjustment to new cost structures by providing access to capital to alleviate short-term cash constraints or improve productivity, and in know-how initiatives that support improvements in productivity and decreased reliance on expatriate labour through spreading management and technical knowledge.

For Media Enquiries, please contact:
Hala Sulaiman
Manager-Marketing Communications
Chief Executive's Office
Labour Fund
Tel: +973 17568850
Mobile: +973 36632848
Fax: +973 17581801
P.O. Box 18131 Manama, Bahrain

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