In a first, Pakistan to chair upcoming Abu Dhabi Dialogue

Pakistan to chair the upcoming Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) for the first time since its inception in 2008, said former special assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bukhari.

“It’s a privilege for Pakistan to chair the upcoming Abu Dhabi Dialogue being held later this year for period of next 2 years. This honour comes for 1st time since Dialogue’s inception in 2008 from among 18 nations. We thank ADD & all member states, we hope to chair with fruitful insight,” he said in a tweet on Monday.

The ADD was established in 2008 as a forum for dialogue and cooperation between Asian countries of labour origin and destination.

The ADD consists of the 12 member states of the Colombo Process (CP), namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam; and six Gulf countries of destination: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Malaysia.

The permanent secretariat is provided by the UAE and the current chair-in-office is Sri Lanka.

In a follow-up tweet, Bukhari said presiding over ADD is a “huge recognition” of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s work for overseas Pakistani workers’ rights

“Globally it will help us create a better eco-system for labour rights, empowering & ensuring the protection of workers, skills up gradation of labour.” he added.