Abu Dhabi Dialogue

DUBAI, 17th October, 2019 (WAM) -- The UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli has called for greater international cooperation in the face of an increasingly competitive race for global talent while addressing a regional gathering of ministers in Dubai.

Speaking at the opening of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in Dubai on Wednesday, the minister said, "Our goal as the UAE is to be one of the most attractive markets in the world for highly skilled workers. We are building a labour market that is very different from the labour market of yesteryears. Across every sector, from business and government to medicine and law, our knowledge economy will increasingly depend on highly skilled workers to drive economic growth and innovation."

Behind this race for skills is a substantial disruption in the world of work, due to new technologies and automation. Research by McKinsey suggests that around half of the jobs performed by humans will be disrupted by automation, mainly among lower- and medium-skilled workers. According to the Coursera Global Skills Index, two-thirds of the world’s population is falling behind in critical skills, including 90 percent of developing countries, suggesting a significant unmet demand for new and emerging skills.

According to Al Hamli, international cooperation is crucial in meeting this growing demand.

Speaking to ministers and senior officials from across Asia, he set out a vision for a new era of regional collaboration. "If we act together as a region to raise the standards of skills among our workforce, we can become the world’s skills powerhouse. We have experience in this region of enabling mobility among workers, and by working together on these new challenges, we are taking the next step towards equipping our population to compete in a truly global economy," he added.

The UAE currently holds a two-year Chairmanship of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, a regional meeting of governments to discuss the governance of temporary contractual workers in the Gulf. Attending the Dialogue are ministers from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, alongside delegations from another nine countries.

The Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration, Antonio Vitorino, also gave a keynote speech yesterday backing inter-regional cooperation. Vice Ministers from Guatemala and Lithuania are attending as observers, in their capacities as Chairs of other regional meetings, alongside delegates from 10 additional regions.