Doha, Qatar: Ministers of Labour from the GCC countries, Jordan, Lebanon and 25 African countries have adopted the Doha Declaration, which includes mechanisms and procedures to sustain the dialogue between the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon and African Union countries, to enhance coordination and address current and future challenges facing countries of origin and destination, with regard to African labour mobility to the GCC, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Ministers of Labour participating in the ministerial meeting agreed to launch the Doha Dialogue as a voluntary and non-binding consultative platform, chaired by the Permanent Secretariat of the State of Qatar and the African Union, to enhance regional and international cooperation on workforce employment between Africa, GCC countries, Jordan and Lebanon, to be held every two years at technical and ministerial level, with the chairmanship rotating between the African Union, GCC countries, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Doha Declaration emphasised the necessity of improving the management of labour mobility, promoting fair employment, addressing illegal practices to ensure decent work, as well as enhancing regional cooperation among countries participating in the dialogue to consult and exchange ideas and experiences that promote sustainable development and benefit both sending and receiving countries. The ministerial meeting, held on May 21-22, brought together Ministers of Labour, experts and high-level stakeholders to advance discussions and cooperation on labour mobility issues from Africa to GCC countries, Jordan and Lebanon. The Ministers highlighted recent increase of African expatriate workers in the GCC region, Jordan and Lebanon, representing 12% of the total expatriate workers in the region.
