Kuwait city: Yousef bin Abdulhussein Khalaf, Minister of Legal Affairs and Acting Minister of Labour, participated in the 11th GCC Ministers of Labour meeting, held in Kuwait from September 2 to 4. The meeting was centered around advancing joint GCC labour initiatives, reviewing the Committee's strategic work plan for 2025-2029, and exploring opportunities for private sector employment for GCC nationals across various sectors.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the participants examined successful programmes for recruiting and developing national workforces and discussed the issue of irregular foreign labour within member states. The ministers endorsed initiatives under the GCC framework for occupational safety and health and established a working group to develop proposals on labour-related aspects of national climate change strategies. This included a potential framework for a just transition and green jobs. Bahrain is slated to chair the 12th meeting of the Committee in October 2026.
On the sidelines of the meeting, three Bahraini companies were recognised for excellence in workforce development and small business initiatives within the GCC. NASEEJ B.S.C. and Zain-Bahrain received honors for their achievements in job localisation, while Green Innova was acknowledged as the leading small enterprise in Bahrain.