IOM is today opening a new office in the capital of Bahrain,
Manama, to provide support to the government in the management of
labour mobility in the Gulf country in a way that benefits all
concerned.

The office is IOM's third in the Gulf and marks a growing
presence of the Organization in the region.

Bahrain, which joined IOM as an Observer state in June 2007, is
currently working with IOM to strengthen institutional capacity in
various government ministries to counter human trafficking through
trainings and awareness-raising initiatives.

IOM Director General Brunson McKinley welcomed the establishment
of the office in Manama, saying the development would "offer new
opportunities to work with our Bahraini friends and partners and
would increase the scope of IOM activities in the Arab and Islamic
worlds."

The office, the opening of which will be attended by
representatives from the Bahraini Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Social Development and IOM's regional representative for the Middle
East, Shahidul Haque, will also allow for collaboration with the
government on other labour mobility-related issues.

"The use of temporary contractual labour is a very important
issue for the labour markets in Bahrain and in other Gulf
Cooperation Council countries. Bahrain is aware of the complexity
of the issue and through recent reform of the management of its
temporary labour system, is working hard to address it. In the
coming years, IOM will be assisting Bahrain in its endeavours on
this question," says Haque.

For further information, please contact:

Shahidul Haque

Tel: +2012 227 1222

E-mail: "mailto:shaque@iom.int">shaque@iom.int