According to the President of the Permanent Population Committee and Secretary-General of the Planning Council, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jabor Al Thani, the objective of the symposium is to examine the demographic and social implications of the unique phenomenon amongst Arab Gulf state where nationals make up between 30 and 80 per cent of their total population.
"The aim of the symposium is to develop population policies that address the impact of migrant communities and foreign workers by identifying tools and procedures that can be adopted in Arab Gulf states," says Sheikh Hamad.
The symposium will assess the impact of foreign workers on the local labour markets, the methods and mechanisms used to engage foreign workers and the impact remittances have on the development and reduction of poverty in their countries of origin.
Representatives from Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in addition to decision makers, experts, researchers from the GCC, international organisations, the Arab League, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations, Unesco and World Bank will attend.
More than 20 papers are to be read at the symposium with Dr Adnan Wadie, from Arab Planning Institute, presenting a paper on "Foreign workers in the GCC."
Another important paper to be presented is the impact of foreign workers on job nationalisation policy in the Arab Gulf states. A case study of the UAE employment market which has the largest proportion of expatriate workers, will be a highlight of the presentations.
